Depends on the star. Some take the high holidays very seriously others are more lax.
When Linda Lavin was starring in GYPSY she took Yom Kippur off and her understudy, Jana Robbins (who is also Jewish) went on. After the performance, at the stage door Robbins met the man who would become her future husband. His greeting was "Hi. My ex-wife lives with your ex-husband. Can I buy you a drink?"
Though not the High Holidays, there is the famous, though probably apochryphal story of the chorus girl in SUGAR BABIES who asked Ann Miller, "Are you going to work on Passover?", to which Miss Miller replied, "Honey, I don't do game shows!"
The simple answer is that some do and some don't. It depends on the religious commitment of the actor. This is pretty much true of any profession, though--whether your religious commitment supercedes your professional commitment. (A recent example I remember is that Tovah Feldshuh didn't perform in IRENA'S VOW on the eve of Passover, which would lead me to assume that she doesn't perform on any high holidays)
Almost all Jewish actors, observant or not, perform on the sabbath though--it would be almost impossible to maintain a career in theatre if you consistently missed two shows a week. Steven Hill (probably best known now for his work on LAW AND ORDER) once said that he knew his stage career was over when he became a fully observant Jew and began keeping the sabbath, as he knew it wouldn't be possible for him to always miss Friday night and Saturday matinee performances.
Just wondered how many are somewhat observant. I am a "conservative" Jew. I would never work on the holidays but will use the internet and watch television. I love to hear Kol Nidre on Yom Kippur so go to synagogue then.
Wondered about folks like Mandy and Marc. They seem more traditional observant. If they are performing live would they take personal days?
Although he wasn't Jewish, Alec Guinness had it written into his contract that he wouldn't perform on Good Friday on the few times he acted on Broadway.
Most likely. But, I'm sure some of them just have it written into their contracts and then its just another day off. The bigger the name, the more likely it doesn't count as a personal day.
BUT in a thread intitled Jewish High Holy days when you say "Even though he wasn't Jewish he asked for Good Friday Off"... kind of gives the impression that you think Good Friday is a Jewish Holiday.
Although he wasn't Jewish, Alec Guinness had it written into his contract that he wouldn't perform on Good Friday on the few times he acted on Broadway.
Also, although he wasn't Buddhist either, Alec Guinness had it written into his contract that he wouldn't perform on Good Friday on the few times he acted on Broadway.
There was a former West End and Broadway Jean Valjean who got every friday evening and Saturday afternoon off. His name is Dudu Fischer and he got this because he was orthodox Jewish. And, as a side note, I do believe he did the role in Israel as well.
Interesting comment. Makes me wonder -- do theaters in Israel do Friday evening and Saturday matinee performances?
When I visited Israel I found it interesting that you could buy a cheeseburger at McDonalds in Tel Aviv but you couldn't get one at McDonalds in Jerusalem (this was back when I used to eat fast food).
No, theatres in Israel do not perform on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
Israel actor/singer/cantor David "Dudu" Fisher played Jean Valjean in the Israeli production of Les Miz. Cameron Mackintosh liked him so much, he asked him to do the role on bradway. Fisher got a contract for six performances a week, with an alternate for Friday nights and Saturday matinees.
Tel Aviv is known to be a much more freewheeling city in terms of strict observation of religious laws and traditions. For instance, in a worldwide poll it was recently voted the most gay-friendly city in the world, surpassing New York, Toronto, etc. In addition to cheeseburgers, in Tel Aviv you can also get a tattoo, which is strictly forbidden by the Torah. http://www.jpost.com/LifeStyle/Article.aspx?id=253121
I also read that Dudu did not do Sabbath performances in New York.
Public transplantation and most of the stores do close from around 6:00 on Friday and until 20:00 on Saturday, but on most of the places it does not include places like restaurants, movies, theaters, bars, clubs, live music/concert hall venues.
Jerusalem is kind of a different story, but when it comes to theater, 4 of the major 7 theaters are in Tel Aviv, which is known for it's night life
"Although he wasn't Jewish, Alec Guinness had it written into his contract that he wouldn't perform on Good Friday on the few times he acted on Broadway."
He wouldn't work on Good Friday and he wasn't even Jewish? What's up with that?
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Posted: 9/16/12 at 11:39am