EDITOR'S WATCH
Stirring The Winds
Beneath JET's Wings
wrong idea, the real force
hough airborne for 10
behind JET is Evie.
years, this JET is still cruis-
Notwithstanding all that the
ing along, with no sign of
rest of us have done, it's
running short on fuel.
Evie's
commitment, energy
So I was pleased to be there when
and
talent
that's made it
Jewish Ensemble Theatre's founders,
work."
friends and fans gathered to celebrate
In the afterglow of the
a decade of curtain-call seasons for the
dinner,
which netted
first professional Jewish theater in the
$50,000,
Orbach reflected
Midwest.
on
the
pre-production
for-
Fittingly, center stage was reserved
mative
years,
when
she
for JET's indefatigable leader and
struggled to find
artistic director, Evelyn
believers.
Orbach.
"It took two to three years
Without her relentless
before
we actually had a sea-
pursuit of a professional the-
son. I encountered a lot of
ater that would deal with
turned-up noses before I got
issues of humanity and corn-
our group of founders
munity from a Jewish per-
together," she recalled.
spective, JET never would
She paused for a moment,
have landed in Detroit. Its
then
said: "I didn't expect
home is the Aaron DeRov
JET
to
become what it has.
Theatre, on the lower level
It's
overwhelming."
ROB
ERT
A.
of the Kahn Jewish Commu-
Over the last 10 years,
S KLAR
nity Center in West Bloom-
since
the first performance
Editor
field.
The
Man in the Glass
of
Orbach's daughter Lila
Booth,
JET
has staged 40
Lazarus, Good Health reporter and
plays
and
10
festivals.
Last season
noon anchor at WDIV-Channel 4,
alone,
it
played
to
38,000
adults and
served as master of ceremonies for the
20,000
students.
Nov. 22 anniversary dinner at Temple
Season subscriptions have risen
Israel. Speaking about her mother's
from
700 to 1,000 and the operating
romance with the theater, Lazarus
budget
from $180,000 to $500,000.
said, "She lives it. She breathes it. She
"And
we're
even in the black," Orbach
loves it. It is her passion."
was
quick
to
add.
And that's hardly an overstatement.
Founding
members who joined
As JET's James August, one of the
Orbach
and
August
in the anniversary
founding members, confided to the
dinner
spotlight
were
Henrietta Her-
250 guests: "And lest anyone get the
melin Weinberg, Dorothy Gerson,
T
Elan Village
Is My Home
"I am convinced that life is 10 percent
what happens to me and 90 percent how
I react to it. And so it is with you. We
are in charge of our attitudes."
— Author unknown
My new life at Elan Village meant
change for me. It also meant choice.
My emotions were mixed and I was
not clear which way to go.
Would I faithfully accept things as
they were, or would I become angry
when I didn't understand them?
Adjusting to change was difficult but,
eventually, I realized that attitude
meant everything.
The support and encouragement I
received from these people enabled me
to make the right decisions confidently:
• Marsha Middleman, executive
director. Marsha, you are very under-
standing and believing in me; you
made me feel trustworthy.
• Marjorie White Olson, MSW.
You share your loving and understand-
ing nature indiscriminately.
• Jackie Langston, director of resi-
dent care. Your kindness and compas-
sion make me feel secure and at home.
• Alicia Nuccilli, CTRS, director of
activities. Your presence is delightful.
• Adele Kozadayev. Your Jewish and
Israeli songs soothe me with familiarity.
Having the right attitude was the
best choice. I am proud to live in this
nice, clean home with a wonderful
staff and good, warm meals. Here, tra-
dition is alive and cherished.
The welcome mat at Elan Village
has always been waiting for me. I just
had to take the first step.
Left:
Bryant Frank
Below:
James August, Irving
Nusbaum and
David Hermelin
Bottom:
Evelyn Orbach
Mary Lou Zieve, Babs and Iry Pro-
tetch and Bryant Frank.
Longtime supporters Sarah and
Irving Pitt, Joel Dorfman, owner of
Thorn Apple Valley Inc., and Arthur
Horwitz, publisher of The Jewish
News, also were honored.
"The Theatre is the House of
Life," their awards read.
"Tonight," said JET President
Phoebe Mainster in addressing the
guests, "we honor those who have
made this theater a living, thriving
achievement in the Jewish community."
Orbach paid special tribute to the
"many people who have invested
financially and emotionally in JET."
That investment, in turn, has helped
put culture and the arts on par with
the highest ideals of the Detroit Jewish
community.
JET has survived, while the theaters
in Chicago and Toronto it
was patterned after haven't,
-1-" partly because of its inde-
nt pendence from the Jewish
Community Center of Met-
ropolitan Detroit and the
= Jewish Federation of Metro-
politan Detroit, although
both are key resources.
From the outset, JET's
board understood that an
audience and a donor base
were crucial. "We needed
people to support us
with dollars, as volunteers
and by being audience,"
August said.
Within
that backdrop,
one of JET's
earliest boost-
ers, Bingham
Farms philan-
thropist David
Hermelin,
now U.S.
JET'S WINGS
on page 28
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Betty Creger
Southfield
12/4
1998
Detroit Jewish News
27