GIL TRAVEL Teens "The Israel Experts" Presents the following tours... ISRAEL TOUR OF THE MONTH Jerusalem - Tel Aviv - Ella! -Tiberias — Haifa • 15 nights from $2009. Travel via El Al Israel Airlines on this great tour! 15-night program includes airfare, breakfast & dinner daily, Bedouin dinner, sightseeing, jeep tour, Dead Sea & Eilat. Also available: 12 night mini program. SENIOR CITIZEN GOLDEN. SPA VA CATIONS Nov. 3 — 24, 1999 - ONLY $2495- GREAT VALUE! 21 Days at the all suite Blue Weiss Spa Hotel in Netanya Israel, 2 meals daily, 8 days of sightseeing, and evening activities. JNF FIRST-TIMERS MISSION TO ISRAEL June 6-17, 1999 $2899.00 Round-trip air, deluxe hotels, sightseeing, Buffet breakfast daily and most dinners. SHA VOUT SUPER DELUXE TOUR TO ISRAEL May 11 — 24, 1999 $2099.00pp Spend Shavout in Israel! Round-trip airfare, 12 nights in deluxe hotels, transfers, buffet breakfast daily, 7 days of touring, folklore evening, lunch & spa at the Dead Sea, Galilee jeep tour and a special Western Wall tunnel tour. the cast of WBHS's production of The Music Man, opening Thursday, April 29. Marissa, a junior who plays Maude Dunlop, a Pickalittle Lady in the play, was the first to get the acting bug, performing in shows while at Hillel Day School in Farmington Hills, where no activities, events or meetings are held on Shabbat. She acted in Cinderella and walked the halls of Hillel dressed like a nun," playing the part of the Reverend Mother in a Hebrew version of The Sound of Music. It wasn't until she acquired a role in a community theater production that she encountered the obstacle of how to attend required Saturday afternoon performances in Southfield while living in West Bloomfield. That's when she met a fellow cast mate who had the oppo- site problem: living near the Southfield play location, she was unable to attend Saturday rehearsals in West Bloomfield. The girls solved the problem by taking turns staying in one another's homes. Knowing that where there's a will there's a way, Marissa pursued her interest in high school acting, work- ing out the logistics of Saturday afternoon attendance at play-related events. In addition to her acting role in The Music Man, she is also on the production staff, is the vocal direc- tor and, jokes director/teacher Robert Leider, she's also "the in- house rabbi." A freshman, Jeremy, also with a couple of Hillel plays under his belt, decided to audition for a school pro- duction only after finding out that the high school debate team has Saturday meets requiring travel to other com- munities. He plays the role of a townsperson in Music Man, his third high school performance. The show calls for 15 pre-high school children and Leider's daugh- ters, Becca, 9, and Joanie, 7, are in the cast. "Maybe its an indication of the closeness in Jewish families," Lieder said, "because every single child brought by a sibling is Jewish." There is even a carpool — including Andrea Shuback — coming to rehearsals from Hillel. For Andrea, her Music Man role is her first in any play. After several years of dancing lessons, though, she is quite comfortable on the stage. Lieder grew up in a home that made time for commitment to " ULTIMATE ALL-INCLUSIVE BAR/BAT MITZVAH EXPERIENCE June 27-July 11, July 4-18, July 11-25, Aug. 1-15, Aug. 8-22, Aug. 15-29 Air, hotels, sightseeing, Bar Mitzvah ceremony, buffet breakfast daily an dinners. A great family tour! CALL FOR PRICES Available as a family tour without bar/bat mitzvah ceremony. . dom ' fa Ls, "'MN '*". AK. leAlL • I wit aims ! a lt. GIL TRAVEL 1511 WALNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19102 215.568.6655 / 800•223.3855 Our My Window on the World' and Once Upon A Time' programs help preschoolers get a leg up. We provide them with activities in math, reading, science and music. And since young children learn best through hands-on-experience, it a good idea to involve their feet, too. West Bloomfield Farmington Farmington Hills 6615 Middlebelt Road 38325 West 14 Mile Road 25005 Middlebelt Road (248) 855-1963 (248) 477-4040 (248) 661-5850 KinderCare' SELECT EMPLOYEES NEEDED TO JOIN THE STAFF OF METRO DETROIT'S LONGEST STANDING FAMILY OWNED STUDIO You Can Depend on Metro Detroit's Longest Standing Family-Owned Studio GoRbAck 4/23 1999 Les Gorback 108 Detroit Jewish News phoiogRAphy 32731 Franklin Rd. • (248) 626-3666 Judaism as well as extra-curricular activities. With each WBHS depart- ment arranging their own agendas, Leider has structured the play sched- ule with respect to all students. Regular rehearsals are not held on Mondays when some cast members attend Hebrew school, or on Wednesday evenings when many churches hold religious classes. Fellow cast members are equally supportive. Christina Kuo, 18, a non-Jewish student director of the play, says, "It takes a lot of commit- ment (to walk), especially during the winter. admire the Shubacks that they have so much belief in their faith." Jewish cast mate Susan Horowitz, 16, adds, "I think its really neat they are so into religion, that they respect it that much that they will walk here. I have offered Marissa a ride when its snowing, but she still always walks." Marissa said sometimes other kids join them on their 40-minute trek home, including Joshua Kimmel, a shomer Shabbat (Sabbath observant) member of the cast who attends occa- sional Saturday rehearsals. Rabbi Leonardo Bitran of B'nai Israel says, "The Shubacks are the epitome of a family living a modern life with a care and observance of Judaism." Seeing them "in shul early on Shabbat, with each one participat- ing in the service at their own level," it is clear they observe religion with "simcha shel mitzvah, a happiness of the commandment." He says that everything they do is "scheduled around being observant Jews, keeping the tradition, without shying away from the fun of enjoying a modern and secular life as well." This Saturday, the last before the play's opening night, is set aside for costume fittings "and an important rehearsal," says Marissa. She and her siblings "may have to get up earlier than most of the cast, to go to shul before play practice." But that's OK. Jeremy says this is their choice. [1 The Music Man will be pre- sented 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29, 8 p.m. Friday, April 30, and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 1, at West Bloomfield High School. Tickets are $5. For information, call (248) 539-2539.