I ENTERTAINMENT I

Stephen Becharas . . . and The Staff Of

6638 Telegraph Road at Maple

In The Bloomfield Plaza

851-0313

Sincerely Wishes It's Many
Friends And Customers

"""--

A VERY
HAPPY PASSOVER

We thank you for your
gracious patronage . . . and
most sincerely
wish the very best
in health, joy and
prosperity to all

The Management and Employees of

Touring cast of 'Those Were the Days'

English-Yiddish
Musical Review

Those Were the Days, an
English-Yiddish musical
review, - will be performed
April 28-May 10 at the Birm-
ingham Theater.
Mina Bern, Eleanor Reissa,
Robert Abelson, Lori Wilner
and Stuart Zabnit, the
original Broadway cast, will
tour with the show, directed
and choreographed by Ms.
Reissa. The show takes the

Most Sincerely Extend Wishes
To Our Customers and
Friends For The Utmost
In Health and Happiness
On The Occasion Of

May everyone rejoice
on this Festival of Freedom

28875 FRANKLIN ROAD AT NORTHWESTERN • Southfield • 358-3355

MICHAEL ELKIN

Special to The Jewish News

t would be understan-
dable if Peter Schickele
got his Bach up when the
topic of his peculiar alter
ego, P.D.Q., is discussed.
After all, Mr. Schickele
has had an incredible career
as a composer of note in his
own right, yet all it seems
anyone wants to talk about
is obscure classicist P.D.Q.
Bach.
"Well, he has accomplish-
ed quite a bit, I guess," says
an understanding Mr.
Schickele.
One has to understand, of
course, that P.D.Q. does not
exist, except in the imagina-
tion of the multitalented Mr.
Schickele, who serves as
longtime ward of the imag-
inary wizard's work.
"Where is P.D.Q.'s place in
history?" muses the comical
music man of the faux sibl-
ing Johann Sebastian
shunted aside in no time
sharp. "Some place between
Beethoven and Attila the
Hun."
There's always room for
laughter. Peter Schickele

Michael Elkin is the enter-
tainment editor of the Jewish
Exponent in Philadelphia.

78

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 1992

The music for the show is by
Jewish tunesmiths of the
past: Abe Ellstein, Ben
Bonus, Molly Picon, Sholom
Secunda, Herman Yablokoff,
Aaron Lebedeff, Jacob Kalish
and Gene Raskin.

Comical Music Man
Creates Classics

I

One of Metropolitan Detroit's
Most Beautiful and Exciting
Restaurant-Lounges

Jewish music and theatre ex-
perience from the shtetl to
New York's Second Avenue
and Broadway.

and P.D.Q. orchestrated an
"April Fool's Musical
Frolic" in New York when
the American Friends of the
Israel Philharmonic Or-
chestra staged a benefit at
Carnegie Hall.
Mr. Schickele joined forces
with violinist Itzhak
Perlman and cellist Yo-Yo
Ma along with a 40-piece or-
chestra made up of IPO
members as well as musi-
cians from the New York
Pick-Up Ensemble.
How did the American
Friends of IPO pick Peter
Schickele and P.D.Q. Bach
as celebrants? It is a puzzle,
says Mr. Schickele dryly.
"Hardly anyone tries to
claim P.D.Q. for their own."
Those gathered will hear
renditions of P.D.Q.'s in-
famous Suite From the
Civilian Barber,
Schleptet,Suite No. 2 for
Cello All by Its Lonesome,
Fuga Meshuga for Flute,
Oboe, Violin and Bassoon,
Eine Kleine Nichtmusicand
A Newly Discovered Work for
Two Violins and Orchestra.
Peter Schickele is
somewhat befuddled why,
after some 30 years, there
are those who don't believe
in P.D.Q. Bach's existence.
After all, this is the man
who wrote the legendary