, ,
For many community theater azenaras,
there's no business like show business.

JULIE YOLLES ENTERTAINMENT WRITER

Lori Jacobs, who was a professional singer, songwriter and performer for 20 years, has now been a lawyer for the
past 10 years. Her day job has allowed her the opportunity to get involved in community theater. She just completed
her role as Maggie in Ridgedale Players' production of Dancing at Lughnasa.

PHOTO BY GLENN TRIEST

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PH OTO BY GLENN TR IEST

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

or thousands of Michigan
thespians, the roar of the
greasepaint calls each
season from the more than 100
community theater groups
across the state. Whether it's
the intimate 105-seat 2nd Stage
of Stagecrafters in Royal Oak
or the 600-seat outdoor Greek Theatre
at St. Dunstan's Guild of Cranbrook in
Bloomfield Hills, there's plenty of ap-
plause to go around and there are plen-
ty of theaters to get involved in.
Onstage or backstage.
It's just all in the community.
Though Lori Jacobs was a profes-
sional singer, songwriter and performer
for 20 years, she's relatively new to the
community theater circuit. In the ear-
ly '70s, she quit teachifig to start
singing. For nine years, she toured

across the country, playing coffee-
houses, nightclubs and the college cir-
cuit. She cut two albums. And, she was
a single mother raising a son,
Jonathan.
"I was very lucky that I was able to
make a living," says Jacobs, who's been
an attorney now for the past 10 years.
"[But] I never could have pursued
theater because they rehearsed at
nights. Once I got a day job — as a 'nor-
mal person' — and got my law career
started, I had some of my evenings free
and I got involved in community the-
ater."
Jacobs is very involved at Ridgedale
Players in Troy and Village Players in
Birmingham. She just wrapped her
role in Dancing at Lughnasa as Mag-
gie Mundy, an Irish woman who chain-
smoked throughout the play.

Deborah Hills Cohen (in
yellow blouse), who's a
teacher in the Rochester
Hills School District,
recently starred as Meg
Magrath in Rosedale
Community Players'
Crimes of the Heart. Bobby
Silberberg was the
assistant director.
"I have a special place in
my heart for Rosedale,
because it was during The
Nerd that my father was
very ill," says Cohen. "He
passed away a week before
opening night. The cast,
Lindy Bruton, everyone
was very supportive, and
they helped me get through
a difficult time."