\—)
awful. 'What a shame they have such a terrible theater,'
Orbach said, shaking her head as she quoted the review.
Extensive renovations funded by public and private
grants took place over the next two years and includ-
ed graduated seating, the leveling of the stage and the
abolishment of the orchestra pit.
With renovations complete, the ensemble theater be-
gan to move beyond the theater's wells, performing dis-
cussion-provoking socio-dramas first for Jewish
communal groups and later for the general com-
munity.
"From the beginning, we knew that our vi-
sion for the theater would transcend our main-
stage space at the DeRoy," says Bryant M.
Frank, a past JET president. "It was a question
of how quickly and how prudently we could do
that."
The company's recent success with ever ex-
panding educational programs (see related sto-
ry) has opened the doors for further outreach.
JET members are currently working on a
joint project with Plowshares Theater, an
African-American theater company based in
the Museum of African American History in
Detroit. The newly formed group is exploring
black-Jewish relations in the hopes of creating
a new play, a staged reading of which is tenta-
tively slated for spring.
Additionally, the theater has expanded its
repertoire by adding its first musical, Falset-
tos, to this season's lineup of mainstage plays.
Orbach explains that, like everything else the
theater has done, the timing had to be right
to produce a musical.
"Our reputation is that we produce quality
productions," Orbach said. "We weren't going
to do a musical until we had the best director,
strong voices, a good script to produce.
"This is going to be an exciting change for
us," she said.
The efforts of the group have
earned high praise from the local A scene from
media as well as a larger follow- JET's Diary of
ing within both the Jewish and Anne Frank.'
general community, a result which may eventually force
the professional company to seek a new, larger home in
the near future.
"We eventually would like JET to have its very own
home," Orbach said. "The vision of the theater never
ends." ❑
See JN Entertainment's Profile and Attraction fea-
tures for more on Falsettos and its musical director, Ben
Cohen.
Featured on our JN Entertainment Cover are just
some of the people who "make JET run." Top Row:
Marci Benson, secretary of JET and co-chair of "Crimes
of Fashion"; Evelyn Orbach, artistic director; former
president Bryant Frank, board of directors. Bottom
row: Former president James August, board of di-
rectors; and past president Bluma Siegal, board mem-
ber and program book coordinator.
-4;
'Crimes of Fashion' To Be Arresting Benefit
at do Detroit Police Chief Isaiah
McKinnon and cross-dressing DJ
Trixie DeLuxe have in common?
Too frightened by the possibilities?
OK, how about media celebrities Frank Turn-
er, Val Clark, Lila Lazarus and Danny Raskin?
Give up? What about adding fabulous fash-
ion, great food and sleuthing to the mix?
If you said JE'rs upcoming fund-raiser for
educational outreach, you'd be right on the mon-
ey.
Tagged "Crimes of Fashion," the Sunday,
Sept. 21, fund-raiser at Neiman Marcus in the
Somerset Collection will feature drinks and din-
ner by Palate Pleaser. Neiman's will close early
to accommodate the fund-raiser, which will be-
gin at 6:30 p.m.
In addition to seeing great fashion after hours,
guests, paying $50 a ticket up to $1,000 for VIP bene-
factors, will be given clues written by local journal-
ists and authors to solve a scavenger hunt-type crime
game that will take them to several stations in the
three-story department store. Local media and
sports celebrities, cloaked in trench coats, will at-
tend the stations. Neiman's will award the efforts of
the guests by giving away 150 gifts, each valued
over $100, to the lucky participants.
Wh
Finally, 150 raffle tickets, each with a different
combination and each costing $50 a piece, will be
sold for a specially created piece of jewelry valued at
$5,000 from MB Jewelers. The jewelry will be
stashed in a vault guarded by Chief McKinnon.
Organizers of the event say they are well on their
way to selling out the 1,000 tickets held for the event
and have sold many of the raffle tickets as well.
"We are really excited about this for a number
of reasons," said Marci Benson, co-chairperson of the
event.
Tor one, it is a great value. For $50, patrons will
have dinner, drinks and a whole lot of fun plus a
great chance to win fabulous prizes," she said. "For
another, the money we raise is earmarked to help
give area schoolchildren a chance to experience the
theater so participants can feel good about helping
a worthy cause."
Corporate sponsors for "Crimes of Fashion" in-
clude The Jewish News and Style magazine.
❑
VT For tickets ($50, Detective; $100, Agent; $250,
Inspector; $500, Private Eye [includes one JET sea-
son subscription]; $ 1,000, Major [2 season sub-
scriptions] and more information about "Crimes
of Fashion," call the JET office at (248) 788-2900.
WIN JET
TICKETS
Have you shared an elevator
with Mel Gibson? Sat next to
Woody Allen on a plane?
Fought over a taxi with David
Bowie? Attended a wedding
with Bette Midler? If so, we
want to hear about it for a fu-
ture story on "Celebrity En-
counters." Please furnish a
brief paragraph on your celebri-
ty encounter, including any
pertinent conversation, and
your daytime phone number.
A mere celebrity sighting does
not constitute an encounter!
Send to Gail Zimmerman, The
Detroit Jewish News, 27676
Franklin Road, Southfield, MI
480 , or fax to (248) 354-6069.
No p one calls, please. If you
send us your celebrity en-
counter, you will win two
free tickets to a JET per-
formance.