Entertainment

One of the fun things about the Jewish Arts Fest is learning more about the Jewish heritage of favorite entertainers.

Over the years, the festival's fans have been able to see Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz, Broadway star Tovah Feldshuh, Mallory Lewis (daughter of Shari) with Lamb Chop, and Jewish gospel singer Joshua Nelson, as well as a performance of Second City's Jewsical! The Musical.

Now, the 12th annual Jewish Arts Fest features the deeply Texan and Jewish story of The Immigrant in a musical concert production by Fort Worth's Stage West. The fest is Sunday at the Meyerson Symphony Center.

The show, nominated for two Drama Desk awards in 2005, was originally subtitled A Hamilton County Album. It's the fact-based tale of Texas actor and playwright Mark Harelik's Russian Jewish grandparents, Haskell and Matley (he changed his grandmother's name to Leah in the show). The couple slowly made friends and a home as the only Jews in the Baptist community of Hamilton, Texas, in 1909.

Their 88-year-old son, Milton, and his wife, Dorothy, 73, will drive more than two hours from Hamilton to attend the show, which they've caught in productions all over the country.

"We've seen it 30 times," Mrs. Harelik says. "I can't resist it."

It's part of a full day of fun at the Meyerson, where you can also see the popular Nickelodeon and Noggin musical duo Hot Peas 'N Butter, which plays music geared toward ages 2 to 10. Jewish singer and composer David Ross and his band will perform, accompanied by local children in the final two songs.

Also on tap: Torah Time Puppet Theatre, crafts for kids, photo buttons, face painting, handwriting analysis, kosher food, and talks and photographs about the Jews of Texas. Photos of the family of Morton H. Meyerson, for whom the symphony hall is named, will be included.

{TriRight} Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St. Advance tickets: $12, $6 for ages 3-15, free for ages 2 and younger. (Advance tickets available today only at the Jewish Community Center of Dallas, 7900 Northaven Road. Available at Tom Thumb locations through Sunday.) At the door, starting at 10 a.m.: $15, $9 for ages 3-15, free for ages 2 and under. 214-739-2737. www.jccdallas.org.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Who would have imagined that a show as intensely personal as The Immigrant, the true story of how actor and playwright Mark Harelik's grandparents settled in a tiny Texas town in the early 1900s, would touch people from around the world?

"We've gotten thousands of letters from people from Japan and Canada and every state saying that the show mirrored their lives," says Dorothy Harelik, whose father-in-law, Haskell Harelik, was the inspiration for the production.

Although Mark talked to his grandfather about the play, he wasn't able to see it before his death in August 1987, just a month shy of his 100th birthday.

Watching the show is an emotional experience, though, for Mark's father, says Mrs. Harelik. "It touches at the core," she says. Milton Harelik is depicted in the play both as a child and as a young man coming home after serving in World War II.

Mrs. Harelik was particularly moved when Mark played his father in one production.

"I cried through the whole thing," she says.

This particular production falls on Haskell Harelik's yahrzeit: the day in the Jewish calendar on which he died.

But Mrs. Harelik does not like to dwell on that. Instead, she and her husband like to focus on the play as "a celebration of life." And she likes to talk of their joy when Mark and his wife gave their now 3-year-old son the name Haskell in honor of his grandfather.

Francisco Cotto and Danny Lapidus have been best friends since high school. So when they decided to put a two-man band together in 2000 to play music for kids, they combined their heritages: Afro-Caribbean rhythms and jazz from Mr. Cotto's native Puerto Rico and Jewish sounds from Mr. Lapidus' upbringing.

"What we're trying to bring to the table is a world sound," says Mr. Cotto, 39, from his home in the Bronx. "We mix Hebrew and Yiddish and Spanish and English and Korean. We have one Hebrew song that we play with a Puerto Rican rhythm. It's a melting pot of stuff, and we hope everyone enjoys the stew."

The group's name came from a game that Mr. Cotto used to play growing up.

"One guy would say, 'Hot peas 'n butter, come get your supper,' and you would have to find a hidden belt before the other kids got to base," he says.

Now, Mr. Cotto and Mr. Lapidus, 38, have families of their own.

Their fourth CD, Hot Peas 'N Butter, Volume 4: The Pod Squad, came out in June. Mr. Cotto's wife and 11-year-old son, Danny, perform on some of the group's CDs. Mr. Lapidus has a child on the way and one who at age 3 is still a bit young to perform, Mr. Cotto says.

"But we'll get them on it eventually," he says.

Best known for the song "The Power to Be," New York artist David Ross has pioneered what can be considered a new musical genre. It's a mix of rock, pop and soul that he calls Jewish R&B. "The Power to Be" was originally featured on an album called Voices for Israel, which benefited victims of terror, and is now the title cut of Mr. Ross' first solo CD.

Here are some of the lyrics:

"You can ride the stars or sail the seven seas/ You can cure the heart or raise a family/ But no matter what or where or who you are/ You have the power, the power to be"

Mr. Ross will be accompanied by a seven-piece band and will also perform with youth choirs from Akiba Academy, Levine Academy and Temple Shalom.

ALSO IN THE LINEUP

If seeing The Immigrant makes you want to know more about the history of Jews in Texas, the festival has some lectures and photo displays for you. Check it out:

11:15 A.M. Author and historian Hollace Ava Weiner will discuss her books. She edited Lone Stars of David: The Jews of Texas and wrote Jewish Stars in Texas: Rabbis and Their Work.

2:15 P.M. Photographer, artist and storyteller Sherry LeVine Zander will discuss synagogues in small towns throughout Texas. She'll present a slide show of her own photographs.

3:15 P.M. Ginger Jacobs will discuss the history of Jews in Dallas.