Lively Cantor: Temple Beth Sholom’s energetic Friedman bitten by the acting bug

Kirk Baird

Monday, June 10, 2002 | 8:17 a.m.

Daniel Friedman has no regrets. At least, not when it comes to how he has approached his career.

Friedman was a working actor "working" meaning successful in acting parlance.

He was in the national touring company of "Les Miserables," has performed in off-Broadway productions and in Toyota commercials with Alan King. And, most recently, he was in the since-defunct production of "Forever Plaid" at Flamingo Las Vegas.

"I lived the life of an actor," he said.

But Friedman also lived the Jewish faith. And, after feeling a spiritual calling, he left one for the other: actor-singer for the role of cantor who serves as the musical voice of a Jewish congregation at Temple Beth Sholom in Summerlin.

"It's very unusual," Temple Beth Sholom Rabbi Felipe Goodman said. "It's usually the other way around. If you have a nice voice, you go to Broadway."

Similar to Al Jolson, Friedman said.

"Jolson was a very good cantor who became a well-known actor and singer," he said. "I always looked at theater as a spiritual pursuit. You transport the audience on a journey where they could identify with characters and leave their lives behind for a little bit. That was a big thing for me."

Born and raised in Los Angeles, the 38-year-old Friedman said he has always been drawn to serve in the Jewish faith. During his teen years he performed in various temple plays and as an occasional assistant to the cantor.

But Friedman was also attracted to secular acting and singing. In high school, he and several friends including Dean Devlin, writer-producer of the films "Independence Day" and "The Patriot" formed an acting group that performed around Southern California.

"Anywhere we could go," Friedman said.

After graduating with a bachelor's degree in acting from UCLA in 1988, Friedman joined the first touring group of "Les Miserables."

"It was my graduate studies," he joked.

In 1992 he moved to New York, where he lived for seven years. As busy as his schedule was, Friedman always found time to return to L.A. during High Holy Days, the most significant holy days of the year for the Jewish faith, and serve as a cantor for the 2,000 people who attended the services at his former temple.

After the services, Friedman would return to New York and resume his acting career.

But it was not until arriving in Las Vegas three years ago to perform in "Forever Plaid" that he began to consider life outside theater.

"I was at a crossroads," Friedman said. "I was studying mysticism and Jewish spiritualism. I was getting deeper into the Jewish faith. Then I had an epiphany."

The "epiphany" was Seann Sella, a film-soundtrack composer, whom Friedman met while both were studying in classes on Jewish mysticism.

Friedman was uncertain what to do with his life. He loved acting but he was tired of the travel: During his 4 1/2 years in "Les Miserables," for example, he performed all over the United States and internationally.

"I was just looking to settle down," Friedman said. "I didn't look at it as a big change."

After meeting Sella, the two began dating.

Friedman went to Temple Beth Sholom to pray about what to do. He then made the decision to go back to New York to study Judaism for five years at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

He and his fiance, Sella, were scheduled to be married shortly before he left in September 2000. She planned to follow him to the Big Apple and look for work composing film scores.

Then Friedman discovered that, as part of his schooling, he was required to go to Israel for one year -- just as the couple's honeymoon began.

"Leave my wife and our honeymoon for that long? I couldn't do it. I decided to postpone (the school)," he said.

So he volunteered at the temple as a Ba'al T'fillah, a leader of prayer. The temple also needed a cantor, so he was quickly recruited for that role.

"There are many cantors with a nice voice but nothing else," Goodman said. "Daniel has a nice voice and a nice soul. That's what sets him apart. When he sings, he opens his soul and voice to God.

"People believe being a cantor is about voice. Not at all. It's about who you are, what you believe, what you know and how you behave towards other people. He really is a wonderful man."

Friedman, though, said he is not a proselytizer.

"I don't believe in that. I just try to be a good man by following the laws of the Torah," he said. Being a cantor "is more important to me. I feel like I'm helping more people here.

"What I want to do is break down the mystery ... of Judaism and religion in general and make it more accessible."

After the temple's board of directors suggested making a CD of worship music, Friedman saw it as another opportunity to demystify the Jewish religion, as well as to create a disc of spiritual music for anyone to listen to and feel comfortable with singing along.

"Educate and entertain," is how he described his motive for making the CD.

Modeled after the temple's traditional Friday night singing and worship service, Kabbalah Shabbat (Hebrew for "The Spirit of the Day of Rest"), Friedman relied solely on the members of his temple to serve as composers, musicians and backup singers.

"We wanted to catch the flavor of ... coming to the service and participating in it live," he said.

Titled "Shabbat Shalom" ("Sabbath Peace Be With You"), the 21 songs on the CD are prayers sung in Hebrew set to contemporary music.

"It's not gospel, it's spiritual music. I hate to say it's Christian rock," Friedman half-joked. "It's Jewish rock. A lot of the prayers are ancient, but with new melodies."

Friedman is the featured vocalist on all the songs, which also feature backup work by Rabbi Goodman and children of the Temple Beth Sholom congregation. The music is upbeat, with guitars and strings, but almost no percussion.

The spiritual disc has proven so popular among both Jews and non-Jews that plans are under way to distribute it nationally on a limited basis through other synagogues and specialty and chain stores.

There are already plans to produce another record, a "healing CD of nature music, like Yanni and new age" with professional musicians, Friedman said.

"There is quite a market for this," he said.