ENTERTAINMENT

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Daniel Kahn and
Sol Frieder
re hearse
for "Ro
sen."

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Jakme tioriman plays

Fern•

t's not Shakes-
peare, but the
Jewish Ensem-
ble Theatre's
(JET) next
production, A
Rosen By Any
Other Name, is
certainly a
sweet play.
The second
play in a tril-
ogy by Israel Horovitz, it is
set in Sault St. Marie, On-
tario, in 1943. This thought-
ful and poignant comedy con-
trasts a bar mitzvah boy's
awakening Jewish commit-
ment with his father's near-
paranoid fear of persecution
and anti-Semitism.
Barney Rosen makes a
quiet living in a men's wear
shop. But he is consumed
with anxiety over Hitler's
atrocities in Europe. His
sense of fear is so deeply
rooted, he believes that the
Rosens will be the next vic-
tims when the Nazi hordes
make their inevitable march
into Canada. To protect the
family from the fate of
Europe's Jews, he decides that
the Rosens must deny their
Jewishness and change their
name.
This causes son Stanley
much consternation. Stanley

is a sensitive but impassioned
boy with a remarkable com-
mitment to his Jewish identi-
ty. While preparing for his
bar mitzvah, he must also
find a way to convince his
father not to deny his family's
Jewish heritage.
Mother Rosen compounds
Stanley's "tsores" by in
sisting that he must have the
most elaborate bar mitzvah
party in Canadian history —
complete with the ultimate
embarrassment, a chopped
liver sculpture of her son.
Starring in the role of
Stanley is Daniel Kahn, a
newcomer to the professional
stage. Daniel, a sixth grade
student at Roeper school, has
performed in several amateur
productions and poetry recita-
tions. The well-spoken
12-year-old says he beat out a
field of older and more ex-
perienced actors to secure the
role of Stanley. But he
modestly suggests that he
may have gotten the job
because he had "the right
look."
The role is not much of a
stretch for Daniel who, like
the character he portrays, is
preparing for his bar mitzvah.
"It's easy for me to play the
part because Stanley is very
much like myself — his at-

JET's 'Rosen'
will feature
two young
faces and a
veteran in a
play about
Jewish
identity.

AARON HALABE

Special to The Jewish News

titude and that he's studying
for his bar mitzvah and the
fact that I would never want
to hide from being a Jew."
Although he loves and ap-
preciates this acting assign-
ment, Daniel says auditions,
"call-backs" and the rehear-
sal schedule forced him to
make some personal
sacrifices. "I had to miss a lot
of things at school. Right now
I'm not missing any school
but my whole class went up
north camping and skiing for
five days and I couldn't go
because of rehearsals . . . I
also had to miss most of my
very first school dance."
Ironically, rehearsing the
role of Stanley has also forced
him to miss a few Hebrew
lessons. His own bar mitzvah
is next September, but for
now, ". . . at least somebody is
studying for his bar mitzvah
in my body."
Daniel says he loves almost
all of his classes in school, but
his favorite subjects are
English, social studies and
drama. He enjoys attending
plays, and his parents, who
both are involved in com-
munity theater, encourage
his love of the theater.
Although Daniel hopes to
continue acting on stage and
in commercials, he says he

will likely pursue a career as
a teacher or an attorney. "I
don't want it (acting) as my
career. I think that acting is
way too risky. If it's some-
thing you're relying on for
food or to support a family,
you don't want to get into ac-
ting unless you're established
like Tom Cruise or Dustin
Hoffman . . . I'm getting paid
for this, but with my parents
feeding me and housing me, I
don't have to go out and buy
food with it. I'm going to be
hopefully getting a stereo."
The other youthful actor in
the production is Jaime
Newman who portrays Fern,
Stanley's unsympathetic girl-
friend. Jaime, a seventh
grader at Hillel Day School,
studied at the Actors Alliance
summer camp. A Rosen By
Any Other Name also marks
her professional stage debut.
Jaime hopes that her JET
performance will lead to
other roles. "I definitely want
to be an actress in Hollywood
on a TV show. I'll do anything
to act — I love acting and this
play means so much. It's like
the beginning of my career.
But my mom said I can't go to
Hollywood yet."
At the other end of the thes-
pian spectrum is Sol Frieder
who plays the narrator, Jacob

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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