eIN Entertainment

•

enian
Struggle
At
Purple Rose
Theatre

ou need not know
specific
anything
about the Armenian
genocide to conjure
images of how the Ottoman
Turks systematically slaugh-
tered 2 million Armenians
early this century. And, for
many Jews, it's probably all
too easy to relate to how pre-
cious and terrible life can be-
come after surviving such a
genocide.
This is the reality Aram and
Seta Tomasian struggle with
in Richard Kalinoski's highly
praised Beast on the Moon,
which opens for previews this
weekend at the Purple Rose
Theatre in Chelsea. After see-
ing his family murdered by the
Turks, Aram escapes to Mil-
waukee and sends back to Ar-
menia for a teen-age
mail-order bride, Seta, who

574 N. Woodward, Birmingham.
(810) 644-8312.

Women of Talent and Beau-
ty: Showgirls of the 1920s.
Through Jan. 31. Bookbeat,
26010 Greenfield, Oak Park.
(810) 968-1190.

AUDITIONS

Dial M for Murder. Stage-
crafters. Noon Saturday, Jan. 20,
and 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21. Per-
formance dates: March 8-10, 14-
17, 21-24. Auditioners should

likewise is one of her family's
few survivors. Their attempt
to make a life together in 1920
America, despite Aram's
staunch traditionalism and
Seta's free-spiritedness, res-
onates with universal truths
about love, loss and emotional
healing.
"It's just a beautiful play,"
says Suzi Regan, who directs
the show. "It's a very human
play (about) having to shed
your grief and move on."
In researching the story, Re-
gan befriended an Armenian
family living in Southfield (ap-
proximately 30,000 Armenians
live in the metro Detroit area,
she says) who tutored her in
traditions, history and accents.
They've also lent the produc-
tion a bowl to use as a prop and
are consulting on other details
of the play.

bring a recent non-returnable
photo. Scripts available. Bald-
win Theatre, 415 S. Lafayette,
Royal Oak. (810) 541-6430.

Michigan Theatre and Dance
Troupe. Saturday afternoons
through Feb. 29. Singers, actors,
dancers, writers and stage tech-
nicians 16 and over wanted. By
appointment only. Call (810)
552-5001.

COMEDY

Comedy Castle: Tim Wilson,

Right: Beata Fido
and Danny Jacobs in
the Purple Rose
Theatre Company
production of Beast
on the Moon by
Richard Kalinowski.

"The family really kind of
fleshed it out for us," says Re-
gan, a Purple Rose regular
since 1992 and Royal Oak na-
tive. %They) gave it a face in-
stead of dry research."
Another part of the cast and
crew's preparation included
several hours at the Holocaust
Memorial Center in West
Bloomfield, where they toured
the museum and spoke with a
Holocaust survivor. It's not
much of a surprise, says Re-
gan, that there are parallels
between the two genocides and
the experiences of their sur-
vivors.
Regan acknowledges that
she considered weaving images
of Bosnia and Rwanda into her
adaptation of Beast on the
Moon, but decided to place po-
litical metaphors on the back
burner and concentrate on

with Keith Ruff, through Sun-
day, Jan. 21. Mark Britten, with
Mark Knope, Wednesday, Jan.
24 through Jan. 28. 8:15 and
10:45 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 7:30
p.m. Sunday. Reservations re-
quired. Open Mike Night 8:30
p.m. every Tuesday. $6/week-
nights, $12/weekends. Comedy
Castle, 269 E. Fourth, Royal
Oak. (810) 542-9900.

Just For Laughs: Dan Carl-
son, through Saturday, Jan. 20.
Spark Mann, Thursday, Jan. 25
through Saturday, Jan. 27.
Open Mic Nite 8:30 p.m.

more universal themes. "I
could have been very political
with this play," she says, "(but)
the play is about human strug-
gle. There are some wonderful
things to discover in it very
simply."

Liz Stevens

—

f2 Beast on the Mo on
oPelas.
this Weekend . f
and will run thry March
10. Tickets are 12 for Fri
day and Saturday, Jan. 19-

are at 0. .. Wednesdays

even, Wednesday. At Sanctum,
65 E. Huron, Pontiac. (810) 334-
6512.

Joey's Comedy Club: Rich
Hall, Thursday, January 25
through Saturday, January 27.
8:30 p.m. Thursday; 8 and 10:30
p.m. Friday-Saturday. $8-
$10/$18.95-$20.95 with dinner.
5070 Schaefer, Dearborn. (313)
584-8885.

Gino's Comedy Room: Bob
Posch, 9 p.m. every Friday. 1999
Cass Lake Road, Keego Harbor.
(810) 682-6540.

5 - 8 *sin

-

P.J. Weber, magician, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 20. Room 115,
Southfield Parks and Recreation
Building, 26000 Evergreen. (810)
424-9022.

Snow White & the Seven
Dwarfs, a concert. 11 a.m. Sat-
urday, Jan. 20. $1.50/$6 fami-
ly. Oak Park Community
Center, 14300 Oak Park 131vd.
(810) 691-7555.

CALENDAR page 94