ENTERTAINMENT
NEW LOCATION
OPENING SOON
v8st CAI
WEST BLOOAFIELD
PLAZA
WAFFLE
WAFFLE
OMELETTE
OMELETTE
o\-s s
•0
oe\\
(c\e \e ke
..„-
111\61
04(‘
\\e 51*
THREE
GREAT
LOCATIONS
Buy one plain waffle or omelette
with toast and jelly ... get one
15600 W. 10 Mile Rd.
Southfield • 552-1100
28505 Northwestern • Southfield • 357-2009
29556 Orchard Lake • Farmington Hills • 628,43804
I_
Reader's Theatre
Continued from preceding page
FREE I
omit 7 coupon por 2 persons
Val& Monday through Friday °MY
No scbcffict,o^s
'Exp. 8-31-87
J
Lunch
11 a.m.
Dinner imam\
4 p.m. to 1 a.m.
f
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
LET US HOST YOUR SPECIAL OCCASION
•
•
•
•
•
WEDDINGS
BIRTHDAYS
RECEPTIONS
ANNIVERSARIES
REUNIONS
• BAR MITZVAHS
• BAT MITZVAHS
• BANQUETS
• MEETINGS
• HOLIDAYS
.
362-1262
Concourse, Top of Troy Bldg. • 725 W. Big Beaver at 175
The Pike Street Restaurant
Wine and Roses
Starting Thursday, August 6
Meet The Wine Makers
At Our Special Wine Tastings
Every Thursday Evening Thru August
6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
FINE DINING ... CATERING ... BANQUET FACILITIES
Reservations: 334-7878
18 West Pike Street off Wide Track (Woodward) • Pontiac
:rsti
VaMs
io
ks
04, igO
3tre
s:
• Art
•
43/40
Aitke A 0- wed
3 ItAt.sk
r,G.101:
•
scx ."41.1x
10.0
OIN 4 • *A1::
ys
;sox orop 11,50
6.sit SPUN% Go0,014
OSS O1
V %WOO
OSOSOG
osts ovisi
54
FRIDAY, AUG. 7, 1987
ikraS
040.0.1_
),O s \I
Oke
- 00 S
_5
hosted by Shaw, introduced
Al Vinocur, in addition to Or-
bach, Goldstein and Rube
Weiss. The actors, most of
whom are currently active
professionally in the com-
munity, also assumed the
roles of producers for the first
two programs. Liz Weiss
serves in a unique capacity,
according to Sandweiss,
because she is both an IRP
member and one of the
performers.
Goldstein, a free-lance actor
and announcer, says that the
work exhibited by the
Readers Theater performers
is every bit as professional as
he has experienced working
with other casts during his
career. "They are good people,
and we have the advantage of
having so many wonderful
Jewish short-stories from
which to choose."
In New York most of the
stories are not of specific
Jewish interest, nor are most
written by Jewish authors.
However, IRP leaders saw
Detroit's Readers Theater as
"a wonderful medium for
bringing back into the com-
munity an awareness of the
great treasure of Jewish
literature!" Shaw explains.
"Thus, the opening perfor-
mance featured the writings
of Sholom Aleichem, Bernard
Malamud, and Esther Broner,
along with a portion of The
Tales of Chelm. The June au-
dience heard works by John
Sayles, Kressman Taylor,
Delmored Schwartz and
Phillip Levine, plus addi-
tional chuckles from Chelm.
"There's no kind of human
condition that hasn't been
covered in Jewish short-
stories," Shaw explained. "We
think it will take a long, long
time before we run out of good
Jewish material!'
The West Bloomfield pro-
ducers chose the same stark
setting employed in New
York, the lone table with vase
of flowers and a pitcher of
water.
IRP liaison Kal Tillem joins
the core group of leaders in a
committee that has taken on
responsibility for other
aspects of the enterprise. The
group expected a good
responSe, - but was somewhat
surprised by the overwhelm-
ing demand for tickets. The
initial audiences were large-
ly, although not entirely,
Jewish. They were also large-
ly, although not entirely,
seniors. The IRP mailing list
provided for immediate sup-
port, but the committee hopes
that future seasons will at-
tract more diverse attendees.
Samson, who is the staff
coordinator for IRP, handled
many of the mechanical
details of arranging the two
Everlyn Orbach steps up to the microphone to read her part.
pilot performances. It is she
who is credited with "holding
it all together," says Sand-
weiss. It was Samson who had
the mixed pleasure of having
to return checks to those who
couldn't be seated in the
225-seat theater. After man-
ning the "ticket-taking" table
and overseeing the wine-bar
in the reception area, she and
Sandweiss relinquished their
chairs and stood in the back
to make room for two last
patrons.
The movers and shakers of
this unique enterprise predict
that this year's success will
lead to six different programs
for the 1987-1988 season,
three in the fall and three in
the spring. Shaw says that the
actors, who volunteered their
services for the pilot produc-
tions, will be paid
honorariums in the future,
which is the standard pro-
cedure for Selected Shorts in
New York. Other local per-
formers have already asked to
be involved in future
productions.
The pre-theater wine-bar is
apt to remain the same, as is
the location at the Jewish
Center and the later after-
noon Sunday performance
time. "The hour lent itself
very well to post-theater din-
ing and socializing, creating
the opportunity for a lovely
afternoon and early evening's
entertainment," Samson
pointed out.
Chomsky says she feels that
the Readers Theater fits well
into the institute's philosophy
and programming as "one
aspect of a total community
service." Local radio could
broadcast audio-tapings of the
performances in the future.
She also anticipates that out
of Readers Theater may come
an IRP story-reading group
that could take itself to
hospitals or senior apartment
settings. Likewise, some IRP
members have indicated a
desire for a short-story study
group, which could research
material for the theater
presentations.
Consistent with the
paticipatory nature of the
IRP, the group asked the two
spring audiences for sugges-
tions for future readings and
will consider those ideas
when planning the fall
productions.
Although this year's perfor-
mances have been financial-
ly backed by the Jewish
Center, Shaw said he hopes
that "in the future some foun-
dation would be willing to
underwrite the project so that
it might have the opportuni-
ty to reach its full potential."
Shaw sees Readers Theater
as one way of satisfying the
"hunger here in this com-
munity for cultural activities
of this kind of quality. We
have so much 'second-rate'.
stuff on television and in the
theaters that the opportunity
to listen to great literature
through the voices of great ac-
tors provides a whole new
dimension."
Arts Awards
Scheduled
Gov. James J. Blanchard
will host the third annual
Governor's Arts Awards din-
ner and ceremony on Oct. 27.
The event is sponsored by
Concerned Citizens for the
Arts in Michigan. The event
will be held at Detroit's
Westin Hotel.
For reservations and infor-
mation, call the CCAM office,
961-1776.