SINGLE LIFE

CULTURALLY SPEAKING

Looking for love in
all the wrong places?
Try the theater, science
center, DIA and symphony

LISA JACKNOW ELLIAS

Special to The Jewish News

bile a cultural event
may not rank as the
most likely place to
meet your true love, it
has happened. Even if it
doesn't, there are a wide variety of ac-
tivities to enjoy in the Detroit area —
and you can spend an afternoon or
evening without feeling like you are
wasting your time.
For example, there is plenty of
classical music available. The Detroit
Symphony Orchestra's season runs
through May, with performances in
Ford Auditorium and Orchestra Hall.
Programs range from traditional,
with guest artists such as soprano
Kathleen Battle and violinist Isaac
Stern to a pops series, with per-
formers including Sid Caesar and the
New Christy Minstrels.
Ford Auditorium also offers a
chance to meet other concertgoers, ex-
plains the DSO's Nancy Kassen.
"There is an area downstairs where
people congregate:' she said. "It gives
people the opportunity to mingle
before a concert and at intermission.",
For those who would prefer to re-
main closer to home while listening
to fine music, the city of Southfield of-
fers a series of 15 Concerts in the
Garden. The concerts are held on Sun-
day mornings at one of the following
locations: First Center Office Plaza,
Prudential lbwn Center, Tel-12 Mall
or the Michigan Inn. Performers such
as jazz greats George Benson and
James Tatum, the Prism Saxophone
Quartet, Los Flamencos Dance
Theater and others will appear, with
a light brunch available.
Brunch is served with Baroque
music at Brunch with Bach at 10 and
11:30 a.m. on Sundays at the Detroit
Institute of Arts. Later the DIA offers
"Sunday Afternoon in the Crystal
Gallery," with entertainment by local
pianist Bess Bonnier. A Friday night

Special art exhibits and
Brunch with Bach
musical events are held
at the•Detroit Institute
of Arts.

See a film or try the
hands-on experiments at
the Detroit Science
Center.

series with works by 20th Century
composers is also scheduled at the
museum.
"Great Orchestras from Europe"
and "Guest Performers from the
Pacific" are the titles of two concert
series at Orchestra Hall. Orchestras
from Rotterdam, Oslo, the Swedish
Radio and Monte Carlo will appear in
the first series, while companies from
China, Japan and the Philippines will
take the stage for the second.
Programs in dance will be
featured at the Music Hall. Schedul-
ed to perform are the • Harbinger
Ballet Co., the Alvin Ailey Dance
Theater and the Warsaw Ballet,
among others. The Music Hall will
also feature the Boys Choir of
Harlem, the mime troupe Mum-
menschanz, and the all-male Les
Ballet Trockadero.
The University Musical Society in
Ann Arbor is a source of cultural fun.
A wide variety of performances, rang-
ing from classical to jazz to dance will
be offered at the Power Center,
Rackham Auditorium and Hill
Auditorium.

Another side of music is available
at the Michigan Opera Theatre,
which performs at the Fisher Theater.
The fall season offers light fare,
Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff, and former
Broadway hits Man of La Mancha
and Kismet. The spring season will be
devoted to more traditional operas, Il
Trovatore and La Boheme, both sung
in Italian, with English surtitles
shown above the stage and Di _ e Fleder-
maus, which will be sung in English.
In addition, opera legend Luciano
Pavarotti will appear in June.
For people with little exposure to
opera, John Finck of MOT recom-
mends the fall season.. Falstaff, which
will be sung in English, is comic
opera," he said. "It is very humorous,
and everyone will enjoy it."
Along with hosting MOT produc-
tions, the Fisher Theater will have its
own season. Scheduled this year are
Broadway musicals Sweet Charity,
Tango Argentino and Me and My Girl,
and a new production, Satchmo, bas-
ed on the life of Louis Armstrong.
Other shows may be added as the year
progresses. The Masonic Temple

Theater will feature a variety of jazz
and pop concerts and comedians.
Theater lovers will also enjoy the
season at the Birmingham Theatre,
where the Broadway musical 42nd
Street will play through Oct. 11. That
production will be followed by Neil
Simon's Biloxi Blues, the musical Pro-
mises, Promises, two comedies which
recently played in New York, Social
Security and Doubles, and George
Gershwin's Girl Crazy.
The Birmingham Theatre, like
the Fisher and Masonic, offers an op-
portunity to see and be seen before
the show and during intermission.
"There is a concession in the lobby,
with a full-service bar," said Shirl
Harris of the Birmingham. "Most
everybody comes to the theater ear-
ly. It's kind of a social gathering
place!'
Eight plays are on the calendar'at
Meadow Brook Theater. They include
the Broadway musical Guys and
Dolls, the Michigan premiere of
Benefactors, .A Christmas Carol,
Educating Rita, Cat on a Hot Tin
Roof the first Michigan showing of

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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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