AAA tAAAAAAAiia AMERICAN ARTS Proudly Presents THE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE OF A DECADE! THE ESTER RACHEL KAMINSKA JEWISH THEATRE FROM WARSAW Company of 35 extraordinary actors and musicians Performed in Yiddish with simultaneous English earphone translation available A STUNNINGLY ORIGINAL MUSICAL BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SHOLEM ALEICHEM WANDERING STARS at the A Different Perspective MASONIC TEMPLE Scottish Rite Cathedral 500 Temple Avenue, Detroit JULIE YOLLES ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR 3 PERFORMANCES ONLY! — 444.dsrca Saturday, October 12, 1996 - 8:00 p.m. Sunday, October 13, 1996 - 3:00 & 7:30 p.m. Tickets available at TicketMaster or the Box Office - performance night only! FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CALL: 810 737 8069 - — 17FTTYTY VIPM . - BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! "Almost as good as my kugel" — Miriam Goldman "Funny, charming, clever" — Variety AND DON'T MISS THE HILARIOUS SEQUEL! JEST A SECONP! OCTOBER 16 - NOVEMBER 17 Try A Double Feature -What's Not To Like? See both plays on the same day, October 23, 26 or 27 by James Sherman OR I JE. VVIO n I Vt VVJ See both plays on successive days the week of October 21-27 For tickets call Supported by the 711C' aces michigan council for arts and cultural affairs Presented with the generous support of Meadow Brook Box Office (810) 377-3300 Ticketmaster (810) 645-6666 Hudson's Harmony House and Blockbuster Music Meadow Brook's artistic director and director of Beau Jest, Geoffrey Sherman, took great care to ensure the authenticity of portraying Jewish characters, themes and customs. Meadow Brook Theatre Oakland University's Professional Theatre M eadow Brook Artistic Di- rector G-eoferey Sherman is becoming a Beau Jest maven. Having first produced the show at the Portland Repertory Theatre in Oregon where it was a box-office blockbuster, he knew that one day he would direct it. On Sept. 18, that became a reality. On Oct. 16, Sherman will turn the directing reins over to Meadow Brook Associate Di- rector Phil Locker, who will oversee Jest a Second's produc- tion. To ensure the accuracy of portraying Jewish customs and practices, Sherman and Lock- er did several things, including bringing in a technical adviser, Priscilla Bachaiov, to help with the seder scene in Beau Jest. "What I basically did to en- sure authenticity was to cast as many Jewish actors as I could," says Sherman, who cast Hen- rietta Hermelin-Weinberg and Robert Grossman as Miriam and Abe Goldman and David Ellenstein, from Los Angeles, as their son Joel. "I was looking for people for whom the ethos of the play was second nature ... I often find that there's a degree of communica- tion about the subject that's just easier to communicate with peo- ple who have it as part of their heritage and their culture. "One of the most fascinating parts of doing Beau Jest, from my personal perspective as a Christian, is the seder," says Sherman about the scene where the Goldmans come together again for Passover with Sarah's new "Jewish" boyfriend. "Yes, the play's funny. Yes, it's a com- edy. But the reason that I want- ed to do Beau Jest was because of its celebration of the family as a human unit, a valuable unit in any society, particularly in the late 20th century. "And the tradition behind the meal — not purely the biblical tradition of Jews leaving Egypt, but the idea of handing down tradition, information, lifestyle and morality from adults to chil- dren — is something that I find very important. And I think it's something that we have lost in Western society." ❑ ,:megrvervrtgimimost. The JN Entertainment cover spotlights the seder scene in Beau Jest feattning David Ellenstein (Joel Goldman), Linnea Todd (Sarah Goldman), Robert Grossman (Abe Goldman), John Seib- ert (Bob Schroeder) and Henrietta Hennelin-Weinberg (Miriam Goldman).