The Ultimate in Bands and Entertainment S • Rumplestiltskin • Simone Vitale • Skyline And The Back Street Horns • Vizitor Here Come The Feds • And More ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR But did they have Super Sunday back in 1895? Jerry Ross Band "Thank you, thank you, thank you for making our daugh- teis wedding a musical dream. You were fabulous!" 11 li b 0•1 0 (11 6NTERTA —Rene and Max Kreitman ■ fIMEI1T th Lafayette, Royal Oak, MI 48067 (810) 398-9711 ANNI-iTTN'S Unique Boutique YOUR FITTING SOLUTION The Finest Quality • Svvimwear •Bras •Undergarments •Night Gowns •Robes •Wigs and Head Coverings Full & Extended Sizes Full Service Mastectomy Boutique After breast surger-y forms and fashions. Full figureclifulL busted intimate apparel_ 3646 Rochester Rd. • Troy • Century Plaza • 810 680-1600 Wo men's Issues F i c t i on Israel Politics Philanthropy n LLJ Carrie, Eileen, Karen, Lauren, Leslee, Nancy, Terri, Steve, Susan and Sylvia went to the 1997 BookExpo to select the biggest authors for the 46th Annual Jewish Book Fair. 0 0 O Now is the time to have your organization, synagogue, temple, club, auxiliary or reading group select a speaker to sponsor. H- 40 0 For more details call (248) 661-7648 Children's Interest jewisA Troaltions Q: Recently I heard that had it not been for a certain Jewish the- ater producer, there might never have been a Peter Pan on stage. What's the story behind this story, Tell Me Why? A: "They could have lit a city with his energy," Peter Pan au- thor J.M. Barrie said of Charles Frohman, the man who first staged the classic tale of the boy who wanted never to grow up. Frohman was born in 1860 in Ohio and died in an infamous disaster — the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. He came to New York when he was 4, and got his first job, selling tickets at Hooley's The- atre in Brooklyn, when he was 14. Three years later, Frohman was an agent for a traveling comedy troupe, and by 1881 he was a manager for a show that traveled throughout the Unit- ed States and England. In 1883 Frohman produced his first play, called The Strangers of Paris. It failed mis- erably. By 1885, Frohman was bankrupt. But instead of run- ning away from the business, he dug in even deeper. He or- ganized his own production company, and headed a firm that booked plays all over the United States. This firm was a real rarity for its time, when "booking a show" usually trans- lated to "our manager will try to get through to somebody who will try to get through to some- body else and we'll see what we can arrange." Frohman was or- ganized and professional, and it didn't take long before he was in control of the largest booking agency in the United States. Of course, he still had some- thing to learn about the artis- tic side of the theater world. Throughout the 1880s, Frohman produced play after miserable play, finally finding success in 1889 with Shenan- doah, a Civil War story. The money came in, and Frohman built his own theater called The Empire, at Broadway and 40th Street. Then he began to buy other theaters, both here and in England. He also expanded his producing to Britain, which is how he eventually met up with author J.M. Barrie. Among the plays Frohman was first to produce: Charley's Aunt, Sherlock Holmes, Chantecler, and numerous works by Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw and John Galsworthy. No doubt Peter Pan was his most famous, though, and he suggested his own epitaph read: "He gave Pe- ter Pan to the world and Chantecler to America. It is enough for any man." Among the thespians Frohman made into celebrities were Maude Adams, John Drew, William Gillette, Otis Skinner, Ethel Barrymore, Bil- lie Burke and Ellen Terry. Virtually everyone who met Frohman liked him, ad- mired his energy and trusted him. He never used written contracts, and had a repu- tation for always keeping his word. Among his fans was George Bernard Shaw, who said of Frohman, "He is the most wildly romantic and ad- venturous man of my acquain- tance." J.M. Barrie was so confident in Frohman's abilities that he agreed to let him pro- duce Peter Pan, though the au- thor himself was convinced it could never be done. In 1915, Frohman produced what would be his last play. It was called The Hyphen, a sto- ry of patriotism, which was written by Justus Miles For- man. • Forman, a journalist, was on assignment for the New York Times when he set sail on the Lusitania with his colleague Charles Frohman. An anony- mous caller had told Frohman not to sail aboard the ship, that it was doomed for disaster, but he ignored the warning. When the Lusitania was tor- pedoed by a German subma- rine, both Justus Miles Forman and Charles Frohman were sent to their deaths. There were survivors of the in- cident, though, including a woman who was near Frohman as his life was com- ing to an end. She recalled his last words: "Why fear death? It is the most beautiful adven- ture in life." Q: I always thought Jewish fed- erations were a relatively new cre- ation, certainly no older than the 20th century. But then I heard that there are some more than 100 years old? Is that true? A: Yes, federations really have been around that long, and they were quite a success right from the start. The first Jewish federation was founded in 1895 in Boston; one year later, Cincinnati had its own federation. Their job was to raise funds for a hand- ful of constituent agencies, and the first two federations proved Detroit's Jewish Federation has been around for more than 90 years (though not in this building, of course). so successful in this effort that they were quickly followed by organizations in Chicago (1900), Detroit (1901), Cleve- land (1904), Indianapolis (1905) and Brooklyn (1910), among others. With World War I, federa- tions took on additional re- sponsibilities, lending their support to Jewish educational institutions, for example, and agreeing to oversee social-ser- vice agencies. Of course, no one could agree on exactly what to call them, though, so there ex- isted quite a hodgepodge of or- ganizations operating under names like the Jewish Chari- ty, the Federated Jewish Char- ities, the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, the Jewish Welfare Federation, etc. By around 1930, when the country was home to hundreds of federations, things were much more organized, and in 1932 the federations' umbrel- la organization was founded in New York City. Now known as the Council of Jewish Feder- ations, it originally was formed as the National Council of Jew- ish Federations and Welfare Funds. CI Send questions to Tell Me Why, The Jewish News, 27676 Franklin Road, Southfield, MI 48034, or fax to (248) 354-6069. All letters must be signed and in- clude the writer's address. Ques- tions answered in the column will feature only the writer's initials and city of residence. _ c