All that's left of the Borscht Belt, the band of resorts and bungalow colonies in the Catskills where New York Jews once schlepped their families for summer diversion, is Kutshers Country Club. Kutshers' website promises a last oasis: a schedule of entertainers, on-site shops, three meals a day plus a bagel bar for snacks. Recent visitors, however, contest these claims. "Place is smelly, run-down, moldy, and not geared for a family with kids who need fun," one online reviewer writes. An industry once delightfully zaftig is now a decrepit skeleton of its former self.But why? Here's how it could be:
- Larry David, Albert Brooks, Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart, and Sarah Silverman doing stand-up
- Regular concerts by Burt Bacharach, Jenny Lewis, Pink, Regina Spektor, and Idina Menzel (for the kids)
- Sasha Baron Cohen leading sing-alongs
- Voice lessons with Paula Abdul
- Computer classes taught by Ray Kurzweil
- David Duchovny, Hank Azaria, and Alicia Silverstone running drama workshops
- Rachel Bilson and Jake Gyllenhaal hangin' by the pool
One reason why I think it would never work now is that young Jewish people have become averse to the idea of having their own enclave. "I don't want to go there. I'm not really Jewish," they would whine. The Borscht Belt was a place to flee when people knew they inescapably were—and might as well make the most of it.
3 comments:
Hilarious image of the potential club, but your ultimate conclusion makes me sad :( Of three Jews in my philosophy class (weird stats for NYU, anyway) I was the only one who managed to say "I am Jewish" when asked, without tacking on "...but I'm actually an aetheist," or "...but only in the cultural sense." It's just incredibly depressing.
My family has spent far too much time in the catskills. Don't forget the Nevele, it is a classic old style jewish hotel still up and running...trust me, I go horse back riding there. and yes, the reviews are true, these hotels are nasty.
Wow! Vanessa, that really is sad. I never really know what to say when people say things like that. Ariella, I didn't know that Nevele was still open. Horseback riding! Jealous. Even if the hotel smells, still jealous.
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