STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND

The New York Times reports on the intersection of Oakdale and (Jewish) Orthodoxy....

The show has been filmed in New York for its entire 51-year history, and it’s safe to say that its souped-up world of sex and chicanery rarely resembles life on the sidewalks outside. But seven years ago the producers moved their studio from Midtown to Midwood, and with a healthy dose of real estate irony, the relocation coincided with a sharp growth in the local Orthodox Jewish community. As Midwood’s Orthodox population soared to perhaps three-quarters of the neighborhood, the gap between sidewalk and soap opera became a gulf.

Read the entire article by clicking on the link above.

(Side note: Guiding Light made an attempt at having a Jewish character back in 1991, when Harley briefly met fashion designer Matt Weiss, had Shabbat dinner with him and his grandmother, then never saw him again. From 1997-2000, future primetime Emmy winner Tammy Blanchard played the Jewish Drew Jacobs. She even got her fiance, Jesse Blue, to agree to convert prior to their wedding. Unfortunately, nobody ever addressed the fact that as an adoptee and biological daughter of non-Jewish Serena and Ben, Drew herself needed to be formally converted. In any case, that was GL's attempt at religious diversity, but I can't recall any Jewish characters ever on ATWT. Can anyone out there jog my memory? Of who is currently on the canvas, I do have my suspicions about Noah. His last name is Mayer. And the actor playing him is Jake Silbermann. Maybe there are several areas in which Noah has yet to come out....)