ENTERTAINMENT
one time, but he always has a handle
on each one." She adds that "many
people on the theatrical scene call and
confer with him. They want his input
. . . he knows the pulse of the market."
Occasionally, his job offers a
chance to get to know the performers,
as was the case with Carol Channing,
Tommy Tune and Anthony Quinn.
Protocol necessitates his sending
flowers and candy upon a performer's
arrival. After that he may not even
get to meet them. But if they do meet
and hit it off, "that's great!" says
Lichtenstein.
In addition to tickets and mar-
keting, technical challenges pre-
sented by certain productions are
Lichtenstein's forte. He figures out
how to — literally — get a show into
and out of the building. Cats, he
remembers, "was the most challeng-
ing set with regard to technical
hurdles," though he admits to having
seen sets he has liked better, such as
those he "lives with at the Masonic
every day;' such as Zorba the Greek,
which he saw six times in seven'days,
and his favorite, Evita, which played
here 11 weeks. Lichtenstein calls it a
spectacular, and made it a point to see
it 20 to 30 times while it was at the
Masonic!
With the responsibility for a large
portion of Detroit's theatrical enter-
tainment resting on his shoulders,
how does Lictenstein go about select-
ing what we'll see and who we'll hear
from season to season? For the most
part, he strives to include a diversity
of a few Broadway hits, a few revivals
and perhaps some pre-Broadway
Alan Lichtenstein is pictured by a poster of a production he brought to Detroit,
shows.
Dreamgirls.
During he summer he plans out
a marketing strategy and program-
ming for the coming year. He travels
to theters in Stratford and other large
cities. In the fall, Lichtenstein knows
he will be in New York almost every
other week to work on contracts and
to meet with producers.
"I get alot of variety:' Lichten-
stein explains. "I think this keeps me
fresh here and keeps the job in-
teresting." While trying to pick out
the best four or five shows available,
he must also determine whether they
will fit into the season's schedule and
the availability of the theater in
Temple and actually works between which the particular show is slated to
JOANNE ZUROFF
the Fisher and the Masonic, ex- appear. He must examine the quali-
Special to The Jewish News
ecuting programming, public rela- ty of any show under consideration.
he decor of Alan Lichtenstein's tions, advertising and marketing on Is it a good production, will it sell
reception room consists of a various projects at these locations. It tickets and will the price be within
colorful wall-to-wall collage of is an endeavor that requires the market's target range?
One of two children, Lichtenstein
posters from Broadway shows. boundless energy.
Describing his work as "press grew up in New Haven, Conn., where
His adjoining private office, deep
in the recesses of the majestic agent, marketing director, technical several generations of his family
Masonic Temple, boasts an enormous engineer and public relations consult- operated the Lichtenstein Monument
desk, appropriately littered for one so ant," Lichtenstein says he enjoys all Co. As a teen, his leisure time was
busy, and a sophisticated collection of aspects of his work. His assistant, consumed with soccer, swimming and
Sandy Wood, remarks, "He has an im- working as a lifeguard at the Jewish
paintings and photographs.
As director of theater operations agination that just never stops along beach club. His family frequently
for Nederlander Theatrical, Inc., with a brilliant mind. He may have visited the Catskills, especially at
Lichtenstein manages the Masonic six or seven major projects going at holiday time, and Lichtenstein fond-
DETROIT'S HUROK
Alan Lichtenstein takes up the
mantle as Detroit's leading
theater impresario
I
GOING PLACES
WEEK OF Feb. 12-18
SPECIAL EVENTS
DETROIT SYMPHONY
RADIO MARATHON:
WQRS-FM (105)
Radio auction to benefit the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra,
today, 832-4330 during broadcast
hours.
COMEDY
DUFFY'S ON THE LAKE
3133 Union Lake Rd., Union
Lake, Bob Posch and John
Cionca, now through February,
9:30 and 11:30 p.m. Fridays and
Saturdays, admission,
reservations, 363-9469.
COMEDY CASTLE
2593 Woodward, Jeff Altman,
Friday and Saturday, Mark
Schiff, Tuesday through Feb. 20,
admission, 542-9900.
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THEATER
DETROIT REPERTORY
THEATER
13103 Woodrow Wilson, Detroit,
The Colored Museum Sunday
through March 6, 868-1347.
ROSEDALE COMMUNITY
•
PLAYERS
The Upstage, Detroit, The
Second Time Around today
through Feb. 27, admission,
532-4010.
UNIVERSITY
PRODUCTIONS
Trueblood Theater, Ann Arbor,
Home now through Sunday,
admission, 764-0450.
FERNDALE COMMUNITY
CENTER
400 E. Nine Mile, Getting To
Know You 2 p.m.-Sunday,
548-3920.
BIRMINGHAM THEATER
211 S. Woodward, Birmingham,
Social Security Tuesday through
March 30, admission, 644-3533.
HENRY FORD MUSEUM &
GREENFIELD VILLAGE
Henry Ford Museum Theater,
Kiss and Tell now through
March 19, admission, 271-1620.
MUSIC HALL CENTER FOR
THE PERFORMING ARTS
350 Madison Ave., Detroit,
H.M.S. Pinafore nowthrough Feb.
14, admission, 963-7680.
OAKLAND UNIVERSITY
Varner Studio Theater,
Rochester, Crimes of the Heart
now through Feb. 21, admission
370-3013.
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
Hilberry Theater, The Dresser
now through March 12,
admission, 577-2972.
Continued on Page 61
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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