ENTERTAINMENT
EASTER RUNCH
Radisson Plaza Hotel at Town Center
Spectacular Champagne Easter Brunch Buffet
at the elegant Radisson Plaza, with live music
for your entertainment.
Bonnie Franklin Stars
At Birmingham Theatre
STEVE HARTZ
Special to The Jewish News
Menu
Fresh Fruit and International Cheese Display
Fresh Vegetable Crudités with Assorted Dips
Array of Salads with Dressings
Pate Display, Deli Meats
Lox, Fresh Bagels and Cream Cheese
Chef-carved Rounds of Beef and Legs of Spring Lamb
Belgian Waffles and Gourmet Omelettes made to order
Tri-Colored Tortellini, Sauteed Green Beans
Scrambled Eggs with White Wine and Gruyere Cheese
Blintzes with Strawberry Sauce, Brandied Peach Crepes
Seafood Casserole, Bacon and Sausage
Baked Chicken with Tomato Vinaigrette
Luscious Homemade Desserts, Pastries and Breads
Brunch served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Reservations suggested.
$16.95 for adults, $7.95 for children under 10 years of age.
Free sheltered parking for guests.
Call 827-1382 for reservations.
Radisson Plaza Hotel
)
At Town Center
1500 Town Center
Southfield, Michigan 48075
AL WINKLER'S
(AR.
orr
12 & EVERGREEN
557-8899
EVERGREEN SHOPPING PLAZA
Heartily Wishes Everyone
A Very Happy and
Healthy Passover
We Will Close Mon., April 9 at 3 p.m.
And Reopen Fri., April 13 at 11 a.m.
Resuming Our Regular Hours
Orders Taken
For Passover
• Complete Dinners • Soups • Fish •Desserts • Etc.
FAX: 557-8941
557-8899
Advertising in The Jewish News
Gets Results
Place Your Ad Today.
Call 354-6060
80
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 1990
W
hen she was a little
girl she tapped her
way onto televi-
sion's "Colgate Comedy
Hour," dancing with Donald
O'Connor. Over the years,
she has starred on- and off-
Broadway in several produc-
tions, including Applause,
Your Own Thing, Dames at
Sea, George M, Peter Pan
and Carousel.
But Bonnie Franklin's
most recognized role was not
as a tap dancer or stage per-
former.
She is best known as Ann
Romano, the divorced
mother trying to raise two
daughters (Valerie Ber-
tinelli and MacKenzie
Phillips) in the CBS-
television comedy "One Day
at a Time." The show
premiered in 1976 and ran
for nine years with reruns
still in syndication.
Today, Franklin's life has
taken a haunting turn as she
stars as Susy Hendrix in
Wait Until Dark at the Birm-
ingham Theatre. The show
runs through May 6.
"I play a blind woman who
is terrorized; it's a very
frightening play," Franklin
said. "She is brave, intuitive
and inventive. I never
played a blind person before,
so the role is a real
challenge."
To make her performance
believable, Franklin attend-
ed a Braille institute.
Born in Santa Monica,
Calif., Franklin grew up in
Hermosa Beach and then
moved to Beverly Hills, "so I
would date Jewish boys."
No longer dating, she has
been married for the past 10
years to TV producer Marvin
Minoff. Since "One Day at a
Time," Franklin has kept
active.
"I've made a tap dancing
video (Let's Tap) and a cou-
ple movies of the week," she
said. "We just took a trip to
Thailand. It was incredible.
So, I'm never bored, and I'm
never not busy."
Franklin, who received the
Anti-Defamation League's
Torch of Liberty Award in
1983 and its Woman of
Achievement Award in
1987, said her acting career
didn't start until 1968 when
she starred in Your Own
Thing, a musical version of
Twelfth Night, in San Fran-
cisco.
"Before Your Own Thing,
`I have no idea what the future holds.'
performing was just fun and
an avocation. But the reality
all started with that show."
She said her favorite role
was as Frankie in Frankie
and Johnny in the Claire de
Lune in New York last year.
Although she enjoyed star-
ring in "One Day at a
Time," Franklin said, "I
always wanted to do musical
theater. That was my dream
as a 10-year-old girl, but
(several years later) when I
got to New York it was like,
`This is it. This is what I
really want.' "
Franklin said she was
challenged with her role on
"One Day at a Time."
"The character was very
different from me. I didn't
have children. I wasn't
divorced. The series was
about a woman trying to find
herself as well as raising two
kids.
"For its time, it was very
new and very experimental.
There had never been a
series like that on television,
based on the issue of divorce
and what it does to kids and
families. Fourteen years
ago, it was shocking to a lot
of people. Now, it's old hat."
After playing an Italian
mother for nearly a decade,
Franklin has been eager to
learn more about her Jewish
roots.
She and her family attend-
ed Brandeis Institute (a Jew-
ish education center for
adults in Los Angeles) and
participated in numerous
programs, including a
"Kibbutz."
She also did a TV special,
"Bonnie and the Franklins,"
a tribute to her family,
which includes her parents,
Sam and Claire, and her four
siblings. She ended the show
by performing a Jewish
song.
After the curtain closes for
the Birmingham Theatre's
"For its time, it was
very new and very
experimental.
There had never
been a series like
that on
television."
Bonnie Franklin
Wait Until Dark, Franklin
will return to California and
appear .in Love and Guilt,
and the Meaning of Life, a
musical concert reading of
the works of Judith Viorst, a
contemporary humorist and
poet. And then what's next?
"I have no idea what the
future holds. Maybe I'll
change careers altogether.
This is a very strange busi-
ness, a very difficult busi-
ness; it's a roller coaster, and
you just have to decide if and
when you want to get off."