HBO show filmed at Temple Emanu-El

Production equipment lined the grounds of the Merrick Avenue synagogue in late June for the filming of an upcoming Martin Scorsese-produced show about the 1970s rock ‘n’ roll scene.

Christina Daly/Herald

Actors and actresses hung around outside the Merrick Avenue temple during a break in shooting on June 25.

Christina Daly/Herald

Production crews were busy at work.

Christina Daly/Herald

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Residents passing by Temple Emanu-El in the last week of June may have noticed a few things they would never expect to see on the synagogue’s grounds — production crews walking back and forth; microphone booms and spotlights hanging from cranes; and trailers in the parking lot.

For two days, Temple Emanu-El, at 123 Merrick Ave., played host as a filming location to an upcoming HBO television show, co-produced by Martin Scorsese, about the inner workings of the rock n’ roll music industry in the 1970s.

Little else is known about the show, which has a working title of “Untitled HBO/Rock ‘N’ Roll Project,” and features prominent actors Bobby Cannavale, Ray Romano, Olivia Wilde as well as James Jagger, the son of Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger.

The Herald visited the synagogue on June 25, and was told by a production worker that the crew had spent most of the previous day prepping for that day’s shooting. They had also filmed scenes at Friendly’s, on Hempstead Turnpike, he said.

The crew member did not say much more about the filming, but said that, at the time, they were shooting a funeral scene inside the synagogue. He added that Long Island has become a hotbed for filming movies and television shows in recent years, because it is in the “production zone” for projects based in New York City.