The Wall St.Journal 24Feb2020

A10B| Monday, February 24, 2020 ** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

ALBANY

Jewish Center Among

Several Threatened

The Albany Jewish Commu-

nity Center was evacuated and

searched Sunday morning after

it and several other centers

around the country received

anonymous emails with vague

threats that mentioned a bomb,

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Mr. Cuomo went to the Al-

bany center after police evacu-

ated about 100 people, searched

the building with dogs and de-

clared it safe.

Similar vague threats were

emailed to about 18 Jewish

Community Centers around the

country, according to Mr.

Cuomo’s office. The centers pro-

vide educational, fitness and so-

cial programs for children and

adults. Mr. Cuomo’s office had

no further details about the na-

ture of the threats nor whether

police searched other locations.

Mr. Cuomo said the FBI is in-

vestigating where the threats

originated. State Director of

Emergency Management Mi-

chael Kopy said the emails were

sent to people with Jewish

Community Center accounts, but

he declined to specify which

centers were targeted.

“These types of situations are

so ugly and so unfortunate,” Mr.

Cuomo said. “What’s worse is

we’re seeing more and more of

them. We’ve had about 42 inci-

dents of anti-Semitism in this

state this past couple of months

so it’s not getting better. It’s

only getting worse.”

—Associated Press

Jacob Sanchez

Diagnosed with autism

Lack of speech is a sign of autism.Learn the others at autismspeaks.org/signs.

League, the industry’s trade

group.

It is also the first time a

Broadway drama or musical

has been presented at Madi-

son Square Garden, venue offi-

cials said. The space is being

given to the “Mockingbird”

production at no charge, offi-

cials added. Projections are

being used to help audience

members in the arena’s far

reaches see the stage.

The idea for the event orig-

inated with “Mockingbird”

producer Scott Rudin, who

says he has felt frustrated try-

ing to attract a more diverse

crowd to the show, which

opened on Broadway in No-

vember 2018.

Hosting an event for

schoolchildren on a massive

scale and removing the barrier

of price became a way to ac-

complish that. “Mockingbird”

seats start at $39, but can run

as high as $199.

Production officials de-

clined to specify how much

the effort will cost. The pro-

duction is forgoing its usual

Wednesday matinee perfor-

mance, which means a loss of

tens of thousands of dollars in

ticket revenue.

The production is also com-

mitting time to remount the

production, given the larger

footprint of the arena’s stage.

“It’s the opposite of inti-

mate,” said Nick Robinson, a

cast member.

The production has been a

success since it opened at the

Shubert Theatre, grossing

more than $100 million to date

and selling out every perfor-

mance. It has benefited from

the enduring popularity of the

novel, which chronicles racial

injustice in the South during

the 1930s.

GREATER NEW YORK GREATER NEW YORK WATCH

OBITUARY

Model, Lifestyle Guru

B. Smith Dies at 70

Barbara “B.” Smith, one of the

nation’s top black models who

went on to open restaurants,

launch a successful home prod-

ucts line and write cookbooks,

has died at her Long Island

home at age 70 after battling

early onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Ms. Smith’s family announced

on social media that she died

Saturday evening.

“Heaven is shining even

brighter now that it is graced

with B.’s dazzling and unforget-

table smile,” her husband, Dan

Gasby, said on Facebook.

Ms. Smith wrote three cook-

books, founded three successful

restaurants, including one in

Manhattan, and launched a na-

tionally syndicated television

show and a magazine. Her home

products line was the first from

a black woman to be sold at a

nationwide retailer when it made

its debut in 2001 at Bed Bath &

Beyond.

In 1976, she became the sec-

ond black model to be on the

cover of Mademoiselle magazine,

after Jolie Jones in 1969.

She hosted the nationally

syndicated television show “B.

Smith with Style” for nearly a

decade.

Ms. Smith was diagnosed

with early onset Alzheimer’s dis-

ease in 2013. She and Mr. Gasby

raised awareness of the disease,

and particularly its impacts on

the African-American commu-

nity, following her diagnosis.

—Associated Press

B. Smith, shown at a 2012 event, began her career as a model

and became a lifestyle maven, restaurateur and television host.

JOSE LUIS MAGANA/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The book is part of many a

school curriculum. Officials

with New York City’s Depart-

ment of Education noted it is

taught to this day.

The Madison Square Garden

event isn’t the only effort on

the part of Broadway produc-

ers and executives to welcome

younger audiences. The Broad-

way League’s Broadway

Bridges program, started in

2017, offers $10 tickets for

shows to high schools.

But by virtue of the arena’s

size—more than 10 times the

capacity of the Shubert The-

atre—the “Mockingbird” per-

formance stands out, say the-

ater professionals.

Joe Christopher, a vice pres-

ident with RWS Entertainment

Group, a New York company

that specializes in theater and

live events, noted that by

bringing Broadway to a venue

“where you would go to see a

Beyoncé concert,” the event

takes on special meaning.

“It elevates the art form to

that level of superstardom,” he

said.

Madison Square Garden has

long been a marquee destina-

tion for sporting events and

concerts. But on Wednesday,

the New York City venue will

play host to a different sort of

program: a play.

The producers of Broad-

way’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,”

the Aaron Sorkin drama based

on the Harper Lee novel, part-

nered with Madison Square

Garden and the New York City

Department of Education to

bring the production to the

venue’s arena.

The performance will be of-

fered to about 18,000 local

middle- and high-school stu-

dents from throughout the five

boroughs for free.

Broadway productions typi-

cally don’t venture beyond

their theaters, save for pre-

senting excerpts at events like

the Tony Awards or Macy’s

Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“This is totally unique,”

said Charlotte St. Martin,

president of the Broadway

BYCHARLESPASSY

‘Mockingbird’ Gets Really Big Stage

Writer Aaron Sorkin, left, and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, in blue tie, with cast and crew members at Madison Square Garden.

DIA DIPASUPIL/GETTY IMAGES

The performance

will be offered

to about 18,

students for free.

NY