I LISTENING POST
I BEST OF EVERYTHING I
A New Theater In Livonia
Brings Back Some Old Memories
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DANNY RASKIN
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 1992
e's no stranger to
bringing variety
shows to the suburbs,
so opening the new George
Burns Theatre For The Per-
forming Arts in Livonia at
ceremonies Oct. 1 is nothing
novel for Stuart Gorelick.
Back in the late '70s, Stu
owned and operated the Royal
Oak Theatre, bringing in Vic-
tor Borge, Steve Martin, Mar-
tin Mull, George Carlin and
a host of others before
subleasing it to Brass Ring
Productions, who carried on
his ambitions for name-act
entertainment.
In fact, much like Mike H-
itch and his previous baseball
relationship, Stuart is no
show biz newcomer . . . When
18 years old, he was already
doing his first stage produc-
tion at the Gold Coast
Theatre on 12th Street .. .
formerly Littman's People's
Yiddish Theater.
As a producer, he toured
acts in various cities . . . Sam-
my Davis Jr., the Jackson
Five with Michael Jackson,
etc.
Stuart's grandfather, Philip
Gorelick, built Littman's .. .
and his father, Oscar
Gorelick, worked there in the
box office and in management
while attending Detroit Col-
lege of Law.
Bringing George Burns
here for the opening of the
theater named after him is no
small feat . . . The 96-year-old
veteran entertainer doesn't
travel much, but when Stuart
Gorelick makes up his mind
about something, there's very
little changing it . . . Know-
ing Stu, I think he would
have flown to Hollywood and
back to carry George Burns
here on his shoulders if need
be.
Another big coup is Stuart's
hiring of Madelon Ward as
general manager at the
George Burns Theatre . . .
Just previously, she was box
office manager of the Palace
at Auburn Hills, Pine Knob
and the Detroit Pistons .. .
Madelon is a real good one
and certainly another feather
in Stuart's cap.
The former Mai Kai
Theater is a great find for Stu
. . . A 1,400-seater which he
has renovated, it was
originally built in 1962 with
the idea of bringing in Broad-
way shows but never went
past first-run movies . . . So
he isn't just taking over some
theater and putting on stage
productions . . . The proper
acoustics are there as well as
excellent visionary factors,
lighting and state-of-the-art
staging with all elements
necessary for successful
presentations.
The George Burns Theatre
for The Performing Arts, on
the corner of Plymouth and
Farmington Roads, has a lot
of convenience going for it
travel-wise too . . . It's just a
mile from the 1-96 expressway
and 20 minutes from
downtown Detroit, with free
parking for over 500 cars and
if desired, valet parking.
His company is called
Center Stage Productions
with a main accent on "put-
ting the show back in show
business" as he coins it .. .
Besides George Burns, Stuart
already has lined up Broad-
way shows, both musicals and
plays, including Aspects Of
Love and two pre-Broadway
openings of a major musical
and an exciting drama.
His Center Stage Produc-
tions lineup is stacking high
. . . with Julie Harris, Stacey
Keach, Roberta Maxwell,
Heaton Battle, Toni Tennille
. . . plus the new Jackie
Mason Broadway show.
Season tickets to the
George Burns Theatre for
The Performing Arts have
now gone on sale.
This is the world's only
theater immortalizing
George Burns . . . and Stuart
Gorelick has again achieved
one of the things he enjoys
most in life . . . being first.
IT WAS A balmy 75-degree
Saturday night as we drove
on Cass Lake Road to Mitch's
II for the first Woodhull Lake
Reunion . . . As would be ex-
pected on such a beautiful
weekend, most of the cottage
dwellers were out in full force.
This is when the nostalgia
began to hit me . . . those
lovely weekends when I'd
drive what seemed so far for
a lot of fun with Sammy and
Ann Woolf, Iry and Minnie
Sachs, Buddy Jacobs and so
many others . . . The Big
House, Sashabaw Road, etc.
Because of an earlier com-
mitment, I got to Mitch's II
later than the 7 p.m. start,
but tears were still in many
eyes as the over 270 attendees
saw people from those
wonderful yesteryears.
Most everybody took it as a
joke when one-man band Ren-
nie Kaufman, a very enter-
taining young fellow, said
over the mike, "Whoever has
•
a Rolls Royce convertible out-
side with the top down, it's
raining" . . . Wasn't a joke,
the rains came down for a
short bit . . . Whoever owned
the Rolls must have thought
it was funny, too. . . . except
later when he or she went out
and sat on very wet seats.
Harry and Ruth Levenburg
brought back so many
memories of their being out
at Woodhull Lake when I
went . . . Harry used to have
Anderson's Bar and Ruth
made the best chili there that
anybody could get . . . Harry
says she still does . . . They
came in from Boca Raton,
Fla. and are celebrating their
50th anniversary.
The table centerpieces were
clever . . . Sand pails with
familiar Woodhull Lake
scenic and street names .. .
Harriet Rapaport collected as
many as she could for keep-
The proper
acoustics are
there as well as
excellent visionary
factors, lighting
and state-of-the-
art staging with all
elements
necessary for
successful
presentations.
sakes . . . Rennie's music was
so scintillating that Estelle
Seltzer, broken foot and all,
danced holding her walker
and at times boogied with
both hands waving in the air.
Even Stuart Eisenberg was
there, the kid who used to
deliver the Detroit News on
his bike at Woodhull Lake .. .
He did it for over five years,
beginning at age 13 while liv-
ing in the cottage of his
grandparents, Max and Ida
Mittler, owners then of Es-
quire Deli . . . Stuart is now
50 years old and a fine
attorney.
The Woodhull Lake Reun-
ion Committee . . . Virginia
and Ray Sharkey, Sally and
Nate Saginaw, Shirley and
Carl Schram, Betty and
Avery Shapiro, Harriet and
Fred Rapoport, Viola and Sol
Cohen, Seymour Joseph and
Paul Begin . . . have a lot of
thanks coming for their hard
work . . . It isn't easy plann-
ing and putting together a
successful reunion . . . But
when you're working with
people whose every ounce of
C