Community

Mazel Toy!

Theater team plans long-term "engagement."

LISA BARSON

Special to the Jewish News

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3/3
2000

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nstage, George and Maggie Antrobus
spend the majority of their married life
fighting.
.
But offstage, the actors who portray
George and Maggie in the Bonstelle Theatre produc-
tion of Thorton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth are
acting out a very different scenario — that of two
young people in love.
Detroit resident Randy Topper, 25, met 22-year-
old Kristi Sorkin four years ago on his first day of
acting class at Wayne State University. Topper admits
it was "love at first sight," and immediately went
over to her after lass to introduce himself.
Topper was temporarily deterred when he learned
that Sorkin's first name was Kristi. "I didn't think she
was Jewish," he admits. After spending a few weeks
with Sorkin, both in class and outside, he was pleas-
antly surprised to find out that she was indeed
Jewish. In fact, at the time, the two were the only
Jewish students in Wayne State's theater department.
The couple knew they had something special after
just a few weeks of dating. When Sorkin returned
from visiting friends in her hometown of
Philadelphia, Topper met her with a dozen long-
stemmed yellow roses —. but was bewildered at her
reaction. "Kristi started crying, and accused me of
speaking with her friends at home," he recalls. Years
earlier, Sorkin had told friends that she would marry
the first man who bought her yellow roses.
Three and a half years into their relationship,
Topper bought Sorkin another bouquet of yellow
roses, this time with an engagement ring tied to one
of the flowers. "Everyone in the theater department,
our friends and family knew that I was going to pro-
pose to Kristi," laughs Topper. "She was the only per-
son who was surprised."
Topper, the son of Nancy and Harry Topper of
Farmington Hills, graduated from North
Farmington High School. Sorkin, the daughter of
Arlene and David Sorkin of West Bloomfield, gradu-
ated from Concord High School in Wilmington,
Del. She moved to the metro area four years ago
when her father took the position of executive direc-
tor of the Jewish Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit.
Topper and Sorkin have acted in many plays dur-
ing their years at Wayne State, but never before have

they played lead characters opposite one another.
Topper says it is "a very interesting experience — the
strange part is that we're fighting through the entire
production, and,. the only person I kiss is the maid!"
Sorkin is enjoying her time onstage with her
fiance, and isn't concerned that they are portraying a
married couple with problems. "Once you enter the
play stage, you become the character, not yourself,"
she explains. "When the play ends, it just goes
away"
For his part, Topper is grateful for the amount of
time they spend together at rehearsals. "The show
takes up so much time, six days a week, often nine
to 10 hours a day," he says. "But we are still togeth-
er, doing something we both enjoy."
All WSU theater students audition at one time
for every role available for performances scheduled
each semester. It was accident, not design, that cast
this real-life couple in the show. "The director knew
we were getting married, but I got the (-Aback for
this role, not Kristi. She didn't know she was even
being considered for it," says Topper.
Topper and Sorkin will graduate this spring with
bachelors of fine arts degrees in acting. Sorkin is
waiting to hear from several graduate school pro-
grams, which will determine where they will live
after they are married. If Sorkin decides not to
attend graduate school, they hope to move to either
Chicago or New York where they can "pound the
pavement," auditioning for acting jobs.
In the meantime, both Topper and Sorkin work
at the Jewish Community Center in West
Bloomfield. Topper runs the counselor-in-training
program for the Fresh Air Society camps, and works
for the Michigan Jewish AIDS Coalition. Sorkin
runs the Teen Caravan program, and also works in
the costume department at the Wayne State theaters.
They plan to marry in August at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek, with the reception at the Jewish
Community Center.
Although the characters that Topper and Sorkin
portray on stage argue continually, Topper says the
message behind the story is to keep on fighting for
what you believe in. "Kristi has a line in the show,"
he says, "where she talks about why she got married.
She says she gave a promise that they would always
be together.
"We are making that same promise to one anoth-
er, and knowing we will always be together makes it
easier to forgive each other for our faults."

❑

Kristi Sorkin and Randy Topper

"The Skin of Our Teeth" runs through March 5 at
WSU's Bonstelle Theater, 3424 Woodward, Detroit.
Show times are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m.
Sunday. For ticket information, call (313) 577-2972.

