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42 December 14 • 2017 jn c e l e b r i t y j e w s arts&life CHANUKAH IN A CHRISTMAS STORY On Sunday, Dec. 17, at 7 p.m., Fox will present A Christmas Story Live! It's a three-hour production inspired by the hit 1983 film of (almost) the same name and a hit 2013 Broadway musical ver- sion. The musical (music and lyrics) was written by the team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, both 32. They wrote the lyrics for the 2016 Best Song Oscar winner, "City of Stars" for the film La La Land. Pasek and Paul are U-M grads — they met in Ann Arbor dur- ing their freshman year. A Christmas Story is based on short stories by the late Jean Shepherd. It takes place circa 1950 and focuses on Ralphie, who is about 10 years old. Funny events involv- ing Ralphie, his friends, and his working-class family are sandwiched around the progress of Ralphie's plan to get a special Christmas present. The story is very secular, and I'd venture to say that most Jews like it as much as non-Jews. Maya Rudolph, 45, co- stars as Ralphie's mother, Mrs. Parker. Pasek and Paul wrote several new songs for the special, including a Chanukah song. The news of the Chanukah song was bro- ken by Ana Gasteyer, who plays Mrs. Schwartz, the mother of one of Ralphie's best friends. I'm guessing that the Schwartzes have become Jewish in this retelling. Matthew Broderick, 55, narrates the TV special as the voice of Ralph (Ralphie) as an adult. Broderick's mother was Jewish and while not religious, he iden- tifies as Jewish. He says the narrator role has special meaning for him because his late father, James Broderick, played Mr. Parker in a 1976 PBS dramatization of some other Shepherd stories. CARRIE FLIES ONE LAST TIME Opening on Dec. 15 is Star Wars: The Last Jedi. As you can guess, the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens (2015) return for an epic adventure. The late Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) makes her final screen appearance in this film. IDENTITY ODDS-AND-ENDS Even the New York Times and USA Today fell for widespread internet misinformation that Meghan Markle, now the fiancée of Prince Harry, has a Jewish father. The Times corrected itself (Nov. 28) the same day they made their mistake. Her correct religious back- ground, as related in the Times' correction, is this: Born Protestant (but not baptized), she went to a Catholic girls' school and intends to be baptized into the Church of England before marrying Harry. Her father is of varied European ancestry, includ- ing German and Irish (but not Jewish). Her mother is African American. I suspect the "Jewish" story originated in the fact that her ex-husband, Trevor Engelson, is Jewish and their wedding, reports said, contained "Jewish elements." (This usually means a chup- pah and/or stepping on a glass.) Readers wonder, I know: So here's the background of just a few of the celebs recently fired or suspend- ed for sexual harassment: Charlie Rose isn't Jewish; NY Times reporter Glenn Thrush is, and Matt Lauer is the son of a Jewish father/non-Jewish mother. He wasn't raised in any faith. Jens Hoffmann, who has been suspended from his duties as deputy director for exhibitions at the Jewish Museum in New York, is not Jewish. He's also chief curator at large at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), whose executive director, Elysia Borowy-Reeder, released this statement: "Our hearts go out to all parties involved. MOCAD is committed to providing a safe and unthreatening work environment for all its employees, artists and visitors," she said. "Jens has been working with MOCAD for four years, and we have had no complaints." • NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST Pasek Broderick Fisher Markle 5829 Maple Rd. 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