Last night, talk show host James Corden hosted the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. Corden often performs comic sketches on his program, The Late Late Show. What Jewish-themed sketch did Corden once perform?
Comedian James Corden arrives at Number 10 Downing Street to interview Prime Minister David Cameron by Andy Thornley is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. Corden’s most popular show segment is Carpool Karaoke, where he drives through Los Angeles with celebrities such as Stevie Wonder, Justin Bieber, and Adele, as they sing along with the music in his CD player. Corden did a special taping of Carpool Karaoke with Rabbi Nossom Steinsaltz of the West Hollywood Jewish Community Chabad which aired on the Chabad Telethon during Chanukkah, 2016. Corden and the rabbi sang niggunim, Hava Nagilah, and Adam Sandler’s The Hanukkah Song.
B. One of Corden’s regular bits on The Late Late Show is Crosswalk the Musical, where Corden and a large cast of musical theater performers put on a show in a busy Hollywood intersection, running into the middle of traffic at a red light and rushing to the sidewalk as the light changes. Corden recently performed as Tevye in a Crosswalk the Musical version of Fiddler on the Roof, alongside Seth Rogen as Golde. The taping was halted when the milk cow which Corden was leading into the intersection took off down Hollywood Blvd.
C. Corden has a regular feature called Take A Break, where he enables someone to take a break from their job as Corden steps in. He recently gave some time off to the assistant rabbi at the Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles. Corden, wearing a yarmulke, assisted senior rabbi Kenneth Chasen at a bar mitzvah ceremony. After Rabbi Chasen offered the priestly blessing, Corden danced the hora on the bima with the bar mitzvah boy and his parents. He also sang the Leonard Cohen song Hallelujah, with rewritten lyrics: Now, I've heard there was a secret chord/That David played, and it pleased the Lord/But you don't really care for music, do you?/But now that I’m here at your bar mitz/Let’s sing some Matisyahu hits/Jewy carpool karaoke, hallelujah.
D. As part of the show’s Take A Break feature, Corden once gave a break to a worker at the Western Kosher supermarket in Los Angeles. Corden assisted the butcher in slicing steaks from a side of beef, he worked the cash register, drove a fork life, and destroyed his wife’s credit card with the meat slicer. He also managed to get an invitation to Shabbos dinner from a store patron.
E. As part of the Take A Break segment of the show, Corden gave a break to a mohel and showed up at the home of the family of a newborn son. Corden, who was wearing a black coat and hat and a long fake beard, was moments away from performing the circumcision, when the real mohel returned from the break just in time to stop Corden from proceeding, much to the delight of all assembled (especially the 8-day-old boy).