JET

JEWISH ENSEMBLE THEATRE

presents

WENDY WASSERSTEIN'S

it
omantic

A hilarious and touching play about
two young women today
. . . The dilemma?
Personal independence
and / or
romantic fulfillment.

Marilyn Mays

Directed by

Gordon Reinhart

• • • •

Maureen McDevitt

Evening and Matinee Performances

PREVIEWS

September 8 - 12

OPENING NIGHTS

September 12

PERFORMANCES

September 13 - October 3

• • • •

Aaron De Roy Theatre

Jewish Community Center • 6600 W. Bloomfield

Tickets (313) 788-2900
or
(313) 645-6666

Special Senior, Student
and Group
Discounts Available.

Michigan Council for Arls
and Cultural Affairs

Personal Star Trek
Leads To Fame

MICHAEL ELKIN SPECIAL

HE JEWISH NEWS

C

aptain Kirk, you
should pardon the ex-
pression, is beaming
— and there's no
Scottie in sight.
But there is a smiling
William Shatner, the enter-
prising actor whose career
has been inextricably linked
to the courageous space offi-
cer of "Star Trek" fame.
Mr. Shatner's personal
star trek has placed him in a
constellation all his own.
Besides finding fame and
fortune as the captain of the
good ship Enterprise in the
original TV series and a sex-
tet of Star Trek movies, he
has moved among the media
in establishing a respected
and resounding career.
For years he starred as the
title cop character in TV's
"T.J. Hooker"; today, he is
, known to a new generation
of TV viewers as the host of
the successful "Rescue 911,"
the CBS reality-based series.
In a way, "Rescue 911"
has rescued William
Shatner from a life of forever
facing his fans' funny
salutes and annual Trekkie
conventions. But then the
Canadian-born Shatner is
not content with conven-
tional career paths.
A classically trained actor
who once took to the stage
with Canada's prestigious
Stratford Shakespeare Fes-
tival, Mr. Shatner has stag-
ed a series of surprises for
those who thought they
could pigeonhole him.
The actor's credits include
a number of dramas from
TV's Golden Age of the '50s
— "Playhouse 90," "Studio
One" — as well as a nar-
rating stint for PBS
"Universe" documentaries.
He made his directorial
debut with Star Trek V. The
Final Frontier in 1989, and
is now a popular sci-fi author
of a series of Tek (Tek War,
TekLords, TekLab,
Tek Vengeance) novels.
Technically, William
Shatner is at an age where
he could consider winding
down. Instead, the 61-year-
old actor is far from spaced
out, finding the '90s an age
of limitless horizons, going
where no others — or at least

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

William Shatner

few others — in Hollywood
have gone before him.
"I've always envied people
with career goals and career
moves," says the actor who
has had a number of them.
His own treks, he claims,
are not planned with the
precision that a Kirk would
appreciate. " I stumble from
one thing to another."
The only real stumble
William Shatner seemingly
has made during his rich ca-
reer was as director of Star
Trek V. That segment of the
series — a metaphysical
mishmash — was arguably
the weakest in the long line
of otherwise enterprising
efforts made by Mr. Shatner
over the years.
Like Kirk, however, Mr.
Shatner is undaunted by
temporary reversals. "I'm
going to be directing a
TekWar movie," he says
proudly.
For that reason, there is
little play time on his
schedule, which explains
why he is postponing a
planned project with friend
and fellow Jewish Star Trek
star Leonard Nimoy at the
Bucks County Playhouse in
New Hope.
Originally planned for
May, that play has been
postponed to December.
Like so many of his other
projects, the upcoming play
is a fantastic trip for the
actor/author. Harry and Ar-
thur will star Nimoy as Ar-
thur Conan Doyle and
Shatner as Harry Houdini.
STAR TREK page R52