{"id":47094,"date":"2025-07-11T01:59:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T08:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=47094"},"modified":"2025-07-21T15:20:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T22:20:18","slug":"enjoy-the-best-of-broadway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/enjoy-the-best-of-broadway\/","title":{"rendered":"Enjoy the best of Broadway"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/i>\u201cIt may sound like a clich\u00e9, but I really believe that music is a unique language. You don\u2019t have to know how to read it, you might not understand the lyrics, but it can still touch your heart and soul,\u201d Omer Shaish told the Independent<\/i>. \u201cAt the end of the day, it doesn\u2019t matter what genre you listen to, it will always make you feel something. That\u2019s what I always hope to do when I get on stage \u2013 use the music to touch people\u2019s hearts and souls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Omer Shaish brings My Broadway Shpiel \u2013 stories, Broadway tunes, popular Hebrew songs and original music \u2013 to Vancouver Aug. 21. (photo from omershaish.com)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shaish brings My Broadway Shpiel <\/i>to Vancouver Aug. 21, 7:30 p.m., at Temple Sholom. In addition to offering a night of Broadway tunes, popular Hebrew songs and his own original music, the performance will raise money for Temple Sholom\u2019s campership program.<\/p>\n

While Shaish never attended summer camp growing up, he did talk about growing up in the Jewish community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re one big family and I love that about us,\u201d said the singer, who was born and raised in Rishon LeZion, which is about 20 minutes south of Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent most of my teenage years and my early 20s in Tel Aviv, where I was surrounded by great art, amazing people and incredible food!\u201d said Shaish, who knew from a young age that he was going to be a singer.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents say that, as a toddler, I\u2019d pick up anything that could resemble a microphone and sing at the top of my lungs \u2013 everywhere. I always loved having an audience,\u201d he said. \u201cEven though, in real life, I sometimes come across as a bit shy and introverted, having an audience to sing for always made me feel at home. Up until today, having an audience, no matter how big or small, brings me to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shaish started his career as a vocalist in the Israeli Air Force Band, performing on military bases and in Jewish communities in Europe and Canada. He also is an actor, performing in Israel before moving to New York City in 2007 and graduating from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. He has numerous theatre, vocalist and soloist credits to his name, but mainly has been touring internationally as part of the classical vocal trio Kol Esperanza and with his self-produced, one-person show My Broadway Shpiel<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though I love acting, I\u2019ve been focusing on singing in the past few years,\u201d he told the Independent<\/i>. \u201cI realized, throughout the years, that I feel more at home just being myself on stage. I enjoy sharing these moments with the audience and it makes every show feel different and so alive. Playing a character can be interesting, too, but, for me, there\u2019s nothing better than simply being myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the moment, Shaish calls Baltimore, Md., home. Previously, he toured the United States for many years, and lived a few years in Los Angeles and in Miami.<\/p>\n

\u201cI absolutely love traveling, seeing the world and meeting lovely, interesting people,\u201d he said. \u201cMy friends always make fun of me and say that they never know where I\u2019m at, to which I reply with, \u2018neither do I.\u2019 It can be exhausting at times, but it\u2019s always worth it. I feel very lucky to do what I love and that gives me a lot of energy to keep at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s looking forward to performing here.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Vancouver!\u201d said Shaish. \u201cI\u2019ve been there many times and I think it\u2019s one of the most beautiful places on earth. The last time was only a few months ago, for rehearsals and a recording session. I\u2019ve performed in Vancouver before and I can\u2019t wait to be back and enjoy the views, the fresh air and, of course, the wonderful people!\u201d<\/p>\n

About the show he\u2019s bringing with him, My Broadway Shpiel,<\/i> he said, \u201cAs I tell my story and share some anecdotes about the Jewish story of Broadway, I sing some classics from Fiddler on the Roof<\/em> and West Side Story<\/i>, and all the way to some surprises by ABBA and Elvis Presley!\u201d<\/p>\n

One of his favourite moments in the performance is when he shares the experience of living in the United States with a foreign name.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have heard so many variations of my name from so many people that I have met,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018Omer\u2019 apparently isn\u2019t very easy to pronounce. So, one day, I thought, why not write a song about it? I took Liza Minelli\u2019s \u2018Liza with a Z\u2019 and turned it into \u2018Omer with an E.\u2019 At first, I wanted that to be the name of my show, but My Broadway Shpiel <\/i>felt more fitting.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the importance of music, he said, \u201cThis brings me back to how I see music as a language. It has superpowers. It can take us away from one reality and bring us to a completely different one within a split second. It triggers our emotions in such a powerful way. When people talk to me after a show and say that I made them laugh, made them cry, or made them forget about their day, I know I did something right.\u201d<\/p>\n

For tickets to My Broadway Shpiel,<\/i> visit tickettailor.com\/events\/templesholom\/1702794<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt may sound like a clich\u00e9, but I really believe that music is a unique language. You don\u2019t have to know how to read it, you might not understand the lyrics, but it can still touch your heart and soul,\u201d Omer Shaish told the Independent. \u201cAt the end of the day, it doesn\u2019t matter what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[24120,3128,22856,3036,24119,22563,4838,1325],"class_list":["post-47094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-camperships","tag-fundraising","tag-jewish-summer-camp","tag-music","tag-my-broadway-shpiel","tag-omer-shaish","tag-storytelling","tag-temple-sholom"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47094\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}