| Sondheim's Jewish "Assassins" | |
| Posted by: TheBroadwayMaven (DavidBenkof@gmail.com) 08:59 pm EST 12/23/22 | |
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| From this week's Broadway Maven Weekly Blast: Happy Chanukah to those who celebrate, and let’s take a moment to acknowledge that not all American Jews have been “nice Jewish boys” — some have tried to assassinate the president. Probably the most bizarre example from Sondheim and Weidman’s Assassins is Sam Byck, who appears in a Santa Claus costume. The real-life Byck was born into a poor Jewish family in Philadelphia. Like his on-stage counterpart, he wrote rambling letters to famous figures, many of whom were Jewish — not only Leonard Bernstein (demonstrated in the show) but also medical pioneer Jonas Salk and politician Abraham Ribicoff. He became a passionate opponent of President Richard Nixon, including appearing in a Christmas Day protest in 1973 wearing a Santa Claus uniform. Byck failed in his attempt to hijack a plane and crash it into the White House. Another failed assassin in the show with a Jewish identity is Sara Jane Moore. Born with the Jewish last name of Kahn, she was raised Christian, but began practicing Judaism while in prison for attempting to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975. She took her faith quite seriously, accusing the Jewish community outside the prison of abandoning her and her fellow coreligionists behind bars. She was known to light Shabbat candles, and she also successfully petitioned for the right to kosher food. A dozen years after her parole in 2007, Moore was caught going to Israel without notifying her parole officer, and she had to return to prison for six more months. |
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