Time for a New "Jewish" Musical

What are the classic "Jewish" musicals?
Fiddler, Joseph, Yentl...

It's time for a new one!

It's time for us to create memorable, singable, music about Jewish life in our time.  That one of the lead characters in "Rent" is Jewish does not qualify "Rent" as a "Jewish musical".

Instead, we need new songs to sing that can share the beauty, complexity, tradition and change of American, and worldwide, Jewish life.

But, of course, as Tevye said, "It's not easy!"

What would be the setting of such a show?  The West Bank, where Israelis and Palestinians dance around one another in an alternately peaceful and dangerous rhythm.  The meeting halls of the modern Jewish movements from Reform to Orthodox who confront the high cost of Jewish living, demographics, and the potential erosion of Jewish communities and Jewish institutions.

What would be the organizing theme of such a show?  Gridlock on the road to peace ("peacelock?").  The strain between individualism and group identity in American society.  Skepticism of organizations and membership in current thinking.

Who would be the lead characters?  Israeli and Palestinian peace activists.  Heads of major Jewish organizations.  Disconnected laypeople.  Seeking laypeople.

In the spirit of the Passover holiday, these questions are better than any possible answers and the suggested answers do not reflect the broad and diverse identities of American and world Jewry.  They are only the beginning of an answer.

The heart of the matter is that as much as I love Fiddler, Joseph, and Yentl, I'm concerned that these seem to be the only musicals that tell the world the Jewish story.  While their messages are universal and timeless, and their melodies are fun and memorable, it's time to write the next series of songs that will get stuck in our heads and in the heads of others.  The fusion of music and words in the interest of sharing the Jewish message is the goal.  The answer may be that we simply need to sing more of our own songs as we tell our stories to our children, friends, and co-workers, as we extend the walls of our synagogue and Jewish institutions wider to become active parts of our larger communities. 

The purpose of this post is, as we find in the Passover Seder, to open up with a question.  The answer will, I hope, come from all of us.