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From Center Stage
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Entertainer spends evening with seniors.

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SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News

illir hen the limousine pulled
up to the Hechtman
Jewish Apartments in
West Bloomfield, the
seniors already had their seats. They
were looking forward to a musical per-
formance by an authentic Broadway
performer.
Jana Robbins, who had a supporting
role in the musical Footloose at Detroit's
Fisher Theatre, stepped out of the car
and into the hearts of her audience,
which also included people from the
adjoining Fleischman Residence. With
the help of an accompanist at the piano,
Robbins sang her favorite showstoppers
for an hour and met with the seniors
afterward.
The program was arranged after an
article about the entertain-
er appeared in the Jewish
News. The singer-actress
had described her volun-
teer work with New York
seniors and offered to put
on a show for local agen-
cies. Sandy Smith, resident
service coordinator and
geriatric social worker,
extended the invitation to
Robbins and couldn't be
happier about the show
and the response.
"It was very exciting for our residents
and staff to have someone with great
talent volunteer her time," says Smith,
who remembers seeing Robbins on the
Fisher stage in Man of La Mancha. "She
sang beautifully and was very person-
able and uplifting. A lot of our people
can't go to the theater because of their
physical or personal circumstances, and
they appreciated the quality of Robbins'
performance.
With New York City as her base,
Robbins regularly volunteers at its
Jewish Home for the Aged. In her work
on Broadway, Robbins was the frequent
fill-in for Tyne Daly as Mama Rose in
Gypsy and appeared in many other
plays, including South Pacific, I Love My
Wife and Crimes of the Heart. She also
has had many roles in TV sitcoms and
dramatic series.

"

12/17

1999

52

"There's something incredibly won-
derful about volunteering," Robbins
says. "I'm very happy to be the free
entertainment and bring some light into
people's eyes.
Besides bringing that light to the eyes
of residents, Robbins brought her
friendship. Resident Eve Lieberman
invited the entertainer to share Shabbat
dinner at Hechtman. Because of the
warm relationship established between
Robbins and the seniors through the
performance and conversation after-
wards, there turned out to be no more

53

Millie Weiss, Edith
Goodman, Jana Robbins
and Eve Lieberman
share a moment.

Performer Jana Robbins
lights Shabbat candles
with Hechtman
Apartments resident Eve
Lieberman.

need for a hired limousine that Friday.
Smith's husband, Richard, who also
enjoyed the entertainer's musical talents
and company, was tapped as the volun-
teer chauffeur.
Robbins "came in time to light the
Shabbat candles, and we were very
impressed with the way she did it," says
Lieberman, a 10-year resident who has
been in charge of showing the weekly
movies at Hechtman. "She was warm
and charming."
Because of her interest in senior liv-
ing arrangements, Robbins asked if she
could see some apartments. Lieberman
and Millie Weiss, a six-year resident,
escorted her.
"She was very casual, and she told us
about her work and how she got started
in show business," Weiss recalls. "She
was a joy to be with."

❑