Saban Theatre Offers Free Seats to Striking Writers, Actors for High Holy Day Services

The Beverly Hills Temple of the Arts at the Saban Theatre, recognized as the largest arts and entertainment synagogue in the U.S., has announced it will provide free seats for striking members of the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA and their immediate families. This complimentary seating will be offered for their High Holy Day Services on Rosh Hashanah, which will be held on September 15 and 16, and Yom Kippur, to be held on September 24 and 25. The standard ticket price for these services are regularly priced at $500 each for non-Temple members.

Rabbi David Baron stated, "As an arts and entertainment industry synagogue, we feel it is our moral duty to support writers and actors in our community and pray for a swift conclusion to their ongoing strikes."

Those in attendance for Yom Kippur, recognized as Judaism’s holiest day of the year, can look forward to hearing from a roster of guests. Including Cristiano J. Zeledón, a former U.S. Marine, who will speak regarding his experiences providing humanitarian aid in Ukraine, where he was injured during a Russian missile strike. Following that, Aron Bell, 96, will tell his story of how he and his brothers, collectively known as the Bielski Partisans, saved 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust, a story told in the film Defiance.

Service tips will be provided by Broadway performer Ilysia J. Pierce and esteemed cantor and vocal coach Hazzan Nathan Lam. Other notable service readers will include former Entertainment Tonight host Mary Hart, film critic Leonard Maltin, and Airplane! actress Julie Hagerty. The temple’s music director, Grammy-winning composer Sharon Farber, is set to preside over the music.

During the afternoon of Yom Kippur, Rabbi Baron will conduct group talks with his High Holy Day special guests, and segments from West Coast touring production of Wendy Kout’s play Survivors will be showcased, courtesy of Arts For Change. The play aims to educate attendees about Holocaust history and the principle of tolerance via the enactments of 10 Holocaust survivors' testimonies, empathetically depicted by a multiethnic cast.

A screening of Adi Eshman’s 10-minute film, Anne, will also be a part of the Yom Kippur services. SAG-AFTRA and WGA members in good standing can reserve complimentary seats by contacting the temple through listed means.

Now that’s quite an immersive synagogue initiative, isn’t it? A measure of comfort communicated through faith, art, and community in what could seem like an otherwise dramatic, strike-infused Hollywood panorama.

Although, Rabbi Baron’s kind-hearted gesture of solidarity with Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA members is another sign of the permeable line between the industry and the society it is undeniably entrenched in. It’s an offering that not only sets a precedent for community support but also significantly recognizes the artists behind the entertainment we so often take for granted, hinting that perhaps, the quill and the script do hold more power than the purse in the throes of a strike. Meanwhile, the lineup for the services reads like a classic Hollywood script - stirring, real-life heroism, gripping history brought to life, layered with virtuoso musical performances and thought-provoking discussions on relevant issues.

Lastly, about the play Survivors, here's a script that takes the idea of casting to heart, vying away from the homogeneity for a diverse cast. Barry Gordon’s and Ilysia J. Pierce’s upcoming discussion should, indeed, offer a new perspective on the representation debate. We're used to asking if it's right to cast non-Jews for Jewish characters; perhaps the real question is, do these roles create space for empathy, understanding, even tolerance? If entertainment bleeds into our perception of society and vice-versa, this could hopefully, be a start of a more inclusive Tinseltown conversation.

If there's one message coming out through these holy days, it's that the storytelling industry, divided as it is, can always fall back on empathy, hope, and community. Not a bad reminder for an industry that trades in stories of humanity, wouldn't you say?