Next week, expect a new look to this newsletter as we rename it

Up Next at the J, where we'll continue to share our growing list of events, classes, travel, and discussions from all of our programs—on site and online.

Come join us!

I am thrilled to announce the launch of Songs of… a new free/low-cost music program that celebrates holidays with an exploration of a related theme across multiple music genres. We launch the series with Songs of Thanksgiving (Nov 25).

Let me take you on our much-anticipated trip to a magical North African country! So different from most Arab-dominant countries, Morocco has its own unique, fascinating culture - a blend of indigenous Berber, Arabian, Sub-Saharan African & European (Christian & Jewish) influences.  In this first series on Morocco, let me take you to Marvelous Marrakech (Four Mondays, Dec 7-28) to meet and tour with our knowledgeable guide for visits around his diverse and vibrant city. Discover wonders that await!

Our preschool program has a few spots open for your inquisitive, energetic 4 and 5 year olds—in San Rafael and Tiburon. Our Early Childhood Education program is safely open, and everyone remains healthy while the children are getting the best start for their educational journey.

If interested in immediate or future enrollment, please contact the Tamar Lai at [email protected]. She'd love to introduce you to the program.

Cost: FREE, registration required

2015’s Trumbo is one of my favorite recent films, telling the true story of Dalton Trumbo, the screenwriter of Spartacus and other classics, persecuted and jailed for his political beliefs during the McCarthy era. John Goodman portrays the only person in town who will allow Trumbo to work, though under a pseudonym. What makes the scenes with Goodman so unforgettable is his hilarious performance as a vulgar, low-rent producer. Goodman has said he based the character on actual subpar producers who had anger issues. Most people think of Goodman in The Big Lebowski , Argo or as Roseanne’s Husband or The Conner’s patriarch, but whenever this fine character actor shows up, the material is instantly elevated.

Nobody could have played Tanya Harding’s weird mother as perfectly as Allison Janney. Janney had a fascinating road to the top, from stage to television hits (West Wing, Mom) to indelible supporting roles in American Beauty, Nurse Betty, Hairspray and The Help to leads in recent films like the under-rated 2019 Bad Education with Hugh Jackman. Janney has a strength of character that makes her one of the most popular character actresses of her time.

We all have our classic favorites and mine is Clifton Webb among others. Webb lived his life as an openly gay man, unusual at the height of his popularity in the 1940’s and 50’s. I constantly revisit Webb as caustic radio star Waldo Lydecker in 1944’s Laura. When I need some stirring music, it’s Webb as John Philip Sousa in 1952’s Stars and Stripes Forever or to get a tear in my eye, the original brilliance of The Razor’s Edge with the under-rated Tyrone Power. It is film fun to watch him fall in love with Dorothy McGuire in Three Coins in a Fountain or go down with the ship in 1953’s Titanic.

It is surprising to note that Thelma Ritter never won an Academy Award, though she was nominated as Best Supporting six times. Excellent at heart breaking drama (Pick Up on South Street), she could play comedic working-class best friends or housekeepers in The Misfits, Pillow Talk and All About Eve. Ritter inspires character actresses right up to today, displaying an authenticity that is both rare and beloved by cinema enthusiasts.