Known for playing East Coast Jews, this Mrs. Maisel star is a proud Southern belle – The Times of Israel
Posted By admin on February 23, 2022
JTA When she was cast as Midge Maisels mother-in-law in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, veteran actress Caroline Aaron had no idea that a series about a very particular slice of mid-20th century Jewish life would strike a chord around the world.
But its popularity has gone far beyond Jews and the Jewish-adjacent. Much like Fiddler on the Roof, the show has found an audience even in countries where Jewish culture is all but nonexistent.
After the second season, we went to Milan to do international press, and there were journalists from all over the world from China, and India, and all of the European countries, and I was like, what could possibly be of interest? Aaron said during a recent Zoom talk hosted by The Braid, a Southern California Jewish womens theater.
But in this show, for people all over the world and even though they were interviewing us I had to interview them, just to find out what it was about this show that had enchanted audiences that had no cultural references.
And what did she learn?
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
I think first and foremost, family is a universal. I think no matter how it manifests itself, that deeply resonates with everyone, said Aaron.
She added that one journalist in Sweden told her that weve never seen a show with a young woman who is confident. Here is a young woman who is in possession of her ambition, and her dreams, and has a direction.
Aarons talk at The Braid served in part as a preview of the fourth season of Mrs. Maisel, which begins airing on Friday after a nearly three-year hiatus. In it, she talked about her long career as an actress in films by major Jewish directors, her Southern upbringing, and her thoughts on criticism that Mrs. Maisel cast too many non-Jewish actors as Jews.
In a career spanning 40 years, Aaron has appeared in multiple films from major Jewish directors such as Mike Nichols (Heartburn, Working Girl, Primary Colors and What Planet Are You From?), Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle and Lucky Numbers) and Woody Allen (Crimes and Misdemeanors, Alice and Deconstructing Harry). On television, Aaron has appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm and Transparent, and since 2017, has been portraying Shirley Maisel. Along with the rest of the Maisel cast, Aaron won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series, in both 2018 and 2019.
Jane Lynch, from top left, Stephanie Hsu, Carolina Aaron, Marin Hinkle, Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, Luke Kirby, Matilda Szydagis, and Sean Tarantina. Joel Johnstone, from bottom left, Michael Zegen, Kevin Pollak, and Tony Shalhoub pose in the press room with the award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel at the 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall, on January 19, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/ Invision/AP)
She has also done notably Jewish-oriented work in the theater. She starred in a one-woman, two-character play about a Holocaust survivor called Call Waiting, later starring in the movie version as well. In 2016, she appeared in Stories from the Fringe, a play assembled from the voices of more than a dozen woman rabbis and presented at The Braid, then known as the Jewish Womens Theatre.
In the Zoom talk, Aaron defended the casting of Mrs. Maisel, which includes Rachel Brosnahan as Midge Maisel, Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle as her parents, and Luke Kirby as the legendary Jewish comedian Lenny Bruce. None of them are Jewish.
Im very concerned that we are confining the art of acting to you have to be it to play it, Aaron said during the talk. When all of this sort of started to dust up, I wanted to write to every parent in the country whos writing a check for a performing arts program, to rip up their check I think that acting in its purest form is taking a walk in someone elses shoes. And ultimately, isnt that the definition of empathy?
When people ask Aaron if Brosnahan is Jewish, Aarons retort is that if youre asking, then shes doing her job and shes doing it well. She added it goes the other way, too.
I dont want to be confined to only playing Jewish women, Aaron said. I want to play all kinds of women. And I think that acting is an art form like any other art form.
Midge with her father Abe Weinberg, played by Tony Shalhoub. (Amazon Studios)
Shalhoub is Lebanese-American, but has played numerous ethnicities throughout his career, including Italian-American and Jewish characters. The casting, she suggested, also serves a dramatic purpose. Midges ex-husbands family is played by Jewish actors (with Aaron and Kevin Pollak as the parents, and Michael Zeglen as Joel, the ex.) She added that while it may not have been intended that way, the casting serves as something of a meta-commentary on the two families: Midges family, the Weissmans, are notably more assimilated than the Maisels.
She also praised the shows writing, and was clear that while the scenes of Jewish characters living at the top of their lungs often appear improvised, the show is scripted down to the comma. She contrasted that with her turn early in the run of Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which not a word is written down.
Aaron has been playing Jewish characters from New York throughout her career (she played Woody Allens sister in two different movies), but she actually comes from Richmond, Virginia, and as she made clear in the Braid talk, her Southern Jewish heritage is very important to her. I didnt even know, when I was growing up, of [the stereotype of the] New York Jewish mother, or a Jewish girl. I had no idea of where that was coming from, because it wasnt around me.
Born Caroline Abady, she took her fathers first name as her last name early in her career because her older sister, Josephine Abady, was already a well-known theater director and Aaron wanted to stand apart. After doing so, Aaron said, she went to see her agent, who told her now everyones gonna know youre Jewish.
Aarons mother Nina Friedman Abady, born in Georgia and raised in Alabama, was widowed at a relatively young age. She later became a professor at an historically Black college and a civil rights activist. The Nina F. Abady Festival Park in Richmond is named for her.
Her mothers example inspired Aaron to write The Mother Lode, which was performed last month as part of Sweat Tea and the Southern Jew, a Braid production featuring stories of Southern Jews. It was held in person in locations across the Los Angeles area and broadcast live on Zoom.
I did have something special with my mother, Aaron said. And I still cherish it to this day.
Go here to read the rest:
- What Is Jewish American Heritage Month? A Proud Jew Explains - May 26th, 2023
- AJC Houston has busy week of advocacy - Jewish Herald-Voice - May 22nd, 2023
- Jewish American Heritage Month: Faith is the heart of the home - Yahoo News - May 20th, 2023
- Jewish American Heritage Month: Faith is the heart of the home - KERO 23 ABC News Bakersfield - May 20th, 2023
- Scott, Colleagues Stand With Israel, Passes Resolution Recognizing ... - Senator Tim Scott - May 20th, 2023
- AJCF marks 80 years since the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising - Spectrum News NY1 - May 20th, 2023
- Biden previews national antisemitism strategy at Jewish American ... - May 17th, 2023
- Biden calls antisemitism stain on the soul of America at Jewish American heritage event - The Hill - May 17th, 2023
- President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and ... - The White House - May 17th, 2023
- Biden speaks out against antisemitic bile during Jewish American ... - May 17th, 2023
- Biden to mark Jewish American Heritage Month with Broadway stars, speak ... - May 17th, 2023
- Lawmakers introduce first-ever bipartisan and bicameral resolution ... - May 11th, 2023
- Jewish American Heritage Month 2023 - May 5th, 2023
- White House to host Jewish American Heritage Month reception amid ... - May 3rd, 2023
- GOP governors commemorate Jewish American Heritage Month - April 30th, 2023
- Lawmakers gather to celebrate Jewish community and Israel, combat ... - April 29th, 2023
- What is Jewish American Heritage Month? | AJC - April 25th, 2023
- Always a safe haven, Staten Islands Sandy Ground is believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railro - SILive.com - April 25th, 2023
- 7 Ways to Celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month - April 16th, 2023
- Jewish American Heritage Month | Managing American Spaces - April 16th, 2023
- Which side are you on: Jewish American or American Jew? - Heritage ... - April 4th, 2023
- Governor Kelly Proclaims May Jewish American Heritage Month - April 2nd, 2023
- Celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month - eatright.org - March 5th, 2023
- Jewish American Heritage Month - Wikipedia - February 27th, 2023
- Jewish American Heritage Month | Equity and Inclusion - February 17th, 2023
- Osceola County will hold group wedding ceremonies this Valentine's Day, and there's still time to register - Orlando Weekly - February 7th, 2023
- A Proclamation on Jewish American Heritage Month, 2022 - January 27th, 2023
- What Is Jewish American Heritage Month? Celebrating Contributions and ... - January 27th, 2023
- Jewish American Heritage Month - National Park Service - January 27th, 2023
- Meet the Orthodox mom of seven who local Republicans want to replace George Santos - Forward - January 27th, 2023
- Florida Gov. DeSantis appoints anti-trans, anti-abortion author to Sarasota's New College board of trustees - Creative Loafing Tampa - January 27th, 2023
- Republican Jewish group calls on incoming GOP lawmaker George Santos to ... - December 25th, 2022
- Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States - December 21st, 2022
- Native American Heritage Month: Continued Support for the Indigenous ... - November 24th, 2022
- Filipino American History Month - Wikipedia - November 24th, 2022
- Rosh Hashanah - Wikipedia - November 24th, 2022
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month - Wikipedia - November 6th, 2022
- The Best New Nonfiction Books Out in October 2022 - Book Riot - October 10th, 2022
- American Names - Behind the Name - October 10th, 2022
- Things to Do in DC This Weekend: Festivals, Exhibits, Tours - Washingtonian - October 10th, 2022
- Colorado has more than just Telluride Film Fest. Heres when you can see films in Denver, Vail, Breckenridge and beyond. - The Denver Post - September 19th, 2022
- A Tiny New Mexico Jewish Community Is Trying to Buy Back its Historic Synagogue Building - Jewish Exponent - September 9th, 2022
- What's going on in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin in fall 2022 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - September 9th, 2022
- This South Carolina College Town Is Top 10 In The Nation - kiss951.com - September 8th, 2022
- Wexner Heritage Program The Wexner Foundation - August 22nd, 2022
- Jewish Americans in 2020 | Pew Research Center - August 22nd, 2022
- Jewish practices and customs in the U.S. | Pew Research Center - August 22nd, 2022
- What You Should Know About NJ's School Supply Tax Holiday This Week - catcountry1073.com - August 22nd, 2022
- How small New England cities are standing up to white supremacists - Maine Public - August 20th, 2022
- Honoring the Turkish-Jewish Maftirim heritage - August 16th, 2022
- Voices of European Jewry: Krakow, Poland | The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle - thejewishchronicle.net - August 16th, 2022
- POLITICO Playbook: This week, it really is the economy, stupid- POLITICO - POLITICO - July 25th, 2022
- Ukraine's Centuries-Long History As Viewed Through its Currency | At the Smithsonian - Smithsonian Magazine - July 23rd, 2022
- How the American right became aligned with Hungary and its authoritarian leader - WYPR - July 14th, 2022
- The Republican Problem with the Holocaust - LA Progressive - July 14th, 2022
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month - July 10th, 2022
- 111 New Books to Read for Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month - July 10th, 2022
- Where to See Art in Philly This Summer - Philadelphia magazine - July 6th, 2022
- DNI Haines Welcomes 15 New Americans at Town of Vienna Naturalization Ceremony - Office of the Director of National Intelligence - July 6th, 2022
- Date Will Live in Infamy': Tri-State Leaders, Public React to SCOTUS Abortion Ruling - NBC New York - June 26th, 2022
- Callista L. Gingrich | Celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month - June 25th, 2022
- The Halakhic Argument for Reproductive Justice - Harvard Political Review - June 19th, 2022
- JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH - The Weitzman - June 4th, 2022
- A Proclamation on Jewish American Heritage Month, 2021 - June 4th, 2022
- Jewish American Heritage Month May 2023 - National Today - June 4th, 2022
- Jewish groups hope focus on Ukraine and antisemitism will draw ... - June 4th, 2022
- City and state governments across US bolster police in wake of Uvalde massacre - WSWS - June 4th, 2022
- Fighting rabbinic ban, Jewish activists push Temple Mt. prayer closer to mainstream - The Times of Israel - June 4th, 2022
- Emory Libraries Blog | Celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month - June 2nd, 2022
- My fellow Jewish Americans, Happy Rodney Dangerfield Month | Opinion ... - June 2nd, 2022
- 8 Asian American and Pacific Islander Creatives on the Relevance of Heritage | Architectural Digest - Architectural Digest - June 2nd, 2022
- Citizens bring transportation concerns to Henrico supervisors - The Henrico Citizen - Henrico Citizen - June 2nd, 2022
- Bill to ban Palestinian flag at state-funded institutions clears initial reading - The Times of Israel - June 2nd, 2022
- The Toni Times | May 2022 - Toni Atkins - May 2nd, 2022
- Tiburon town council passes antisemitism resolution J. - The Jewish News of Northern California - April 30th, 2022
- ADL: NJ had the 2nd most antisemitic incidents in US in 2021 - News 12 Long Island - April 29th, 2022
- Why These Israeli Farmers Became Heroes After Killing Their Crops - Jewish Exponent - April 23rd, 2022
- How Can We Protect Cultural Heritage in Ukraine? Five Key Steps for the Int'l Community - Just Security - April 23rd, 2022
- An April reflection: We must fight to preserve religious liberty - Shelbynews - April 16th, 2022
- Chair and teacup from Texas synagogue hostage crisis to be displayed in exhibit - Religion News Service - April 9th, 2022
Comments