Fordham Now

Ancient Sculpture from the Brooklyn Museum and The Hispanic Society of America
2025-01-17 08:00 - 2026-12-31 17:00 (America/New_York) | Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art, Walsh Library, 441 East Fordham Road, Bronx, NY, 10458, United States
Longterm loans of important and rarely seen ancient sculpture from the Brooklyn Museum and the Hispanic Society of America are on view at the Fordham Museum until 2026. The Museum is located in the atrium of the Walsh Library at Rose Hill

“Henna, Love, and Light: Jewish Life and Art in Siona Benjamin’s India”
2025-01-30 10:00 - 2025-03-28 17:00 | Henry S. Miller Judaica Research Room, Fourth Floor, Walsh Family Library, 441 East Fordham Road, Bronx, NY, 10458, United States
In 2011, Siona Benjamin, an intercultural artist born in India to a Bene Israel Jewish community, returned to her country of birth on a Fulbright India-US fellowship. During her stay, she traveled across the country, conducting research and interviewing Jews in India. “Henna, Love, and Light: Jewish Life and Art in Siona Benjamin’s India” brings to Fordham several pieces from Siona Benjamin’s series of photo-collage paintings, “Faces: Weaving Indian Jewish Narratives.” These pieces serve as anchors that link the present and the past. Around Siona Benjamin’s art are photographs taken by the artist’s parents and family members. In the 1950s, Siona Benjamin’s parents, Judah and Sophie Benjamin, traveled across India photographing synagogues and houses of prayer, capturing the range and diversity of the Indian Jewish community: from splendid metropolitan synagogues to small rural prayer halls. The cache of photographs in Siona Benjamin’s possession thus documents an aspect of Jewish history, now threatened by oblivion.
Like Siona Benjamin’s art, some of the old family photographs underscore how much the life and culture of Jews in India were very much of India. Henna, saris, glass lamps of synagogue lights meld with modern suits and classic fedoras becoming one. Indian and Jewish, traditional and modern–all form a distinct Indian Jewish identity.
The exhibit was made possible by the Hadassah Ruth Weiner Jewish Art Fund at Fordham University and was curated by Amy Levine-Kennedy, Mallory Roof FCRH ‘26, and Magda Teter. It will be on view from January 30 until March 28, 2025 in the Henry S. Miller Judaica Research Room on the 4th floor of the Walsh Family Library.

Fordham Theatre Presents: Three Penny Opera
2025-02-27 20:00 - 22:30 | Pope Auditorium, Lowenstein Center, Lincoln Center Campus 113 W 60th St, New York, NY, 10023, United States
Don’t miss the treasure that is George Drance, S.J. The esteemed professor has been teaching at Fordham University for over 25 years, and Three Penny Opera is his fourth directorial production. “The quality of the engagement, excitement, and spirit of the Fordham students makes this show special,” he said.
Set in Victorian London, Three Penny Opera tells the story of the notorious criminal Macheath, also known as “Mack the Knife,” and his exploits in the city’s underworld. When Macheath decides to marry Polly Peachum, Mr. Peachum, the King of the Beggars, hatches a plan to have him arrested and hanged. Through its dark humor and satirical commentary on capitalism, corruption, and morality, Three Penny Opera exposes the contradictions and inequalities of society while challenging traditional notions of morality and justice.
Performances:
February 27 – 8 p.m.
February 28 – 8 p.m.
March 1 – 8 p.m.
March 6 – 8 p.m. (Young Alumni Night)
March 7 – 8 p.m.
March 8 – 2 p.m. (Director George Drance, S.J. and students will participate in a talkback at 4:30 p.m.)
March 8 – 8 p.m.
Pope Auditorium
Fordham University – Lincoln Center
113 West 60th Street | Map
Tickets: $5 for students and seniors; $15 for faculty, staff, and alumni; $20 general admission
George Drance, S.J., has performed and directed in more than 25 countries on five continents, serving such companies as Teatro la Fragua in Honduras, and Theatre YETU in Kenya. He is currently the artistic director of the critically acclaimed Magis Theatre Company, praised by the New York Times for its artistic skill and daring.
Acting credits include La MaMa, ETC, The Metropolitan Opera, The Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival, The American Repertory Theater, Ping Chong & Co., and the Yara Arts Group. He has appeared on NBC’s The Blacklist and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. Film credits include The Light of Eons, Solidarity, and Chinoiserie.
As a resident artist in La MaMa’s Great Jones Repertory Company, he has toured throughout Europe and Asia with the Andrei Serban/ Elizabeth Swados collaboration, Fragments of a Greek Trilogy, and as a key collaborator with Ellen Stewart on many of her original pieces. He is a team member and director of training for the Trojan Women Project.
He has been on the faculty of the Marist International Center (Nairobi, Kenya,) and at Red Cloud High School (Oglala Lakota Nation.) He had held prestigious fellowships at Marquette University, Loyola University Chicago, Santa Clara University, and Marshall University.
His next show, Angel in the Ashes, premieres at La MaMa on March 27.
