A Shor Thing

VERY SPECIAL
CONCERT

Former Detroiter Miriam Shor's gamble
on a career in show business is paying off

Photo by Bo b D'Amico

.

Miriam Shor:
"The statistics
were daunting,
but I believed
that if you really
wanted it, you
should take a
chance and
go for it."

SHLOMO GRONICH

and

The SHEBA CHOIR of ISRAEL

featurin g Michal Adler

ALICE BURDICK SCHWEIGER

Special to the Jewish News

hen metro Detroiters
turn on ABC's new sit-
corn Then Came You,
they may see a familiar
face. That's because Miriam Shor, who
grew up in Oak Park and Pleasant
Ridge, is one of the co-stars.
"Being on a primetime show is very
exciting for me," says Shor, who, while
working in New York, was flown out
to L.A. for an audition and wound up
getting the part. "Not only is this my
first sitcom, but it's my first weekly
television show."
Then Came You, which airs 8:30
p.m. Wednesday nights, is an ensemble
comedy series about a 33-year-old
recently divorced book editor, Billie
(Susan Floyd), who winds up in a pas-
sionate love affair with Aidan (Thomas
Newton), a 22-year old room-service
waiter. All does not run smoothly —
and there to offer support is Billie's
best friend Cheryl, played by Shor.
"I am the Rhoda, and Billie is the
Mary," says Shor, 28, playing a char-
acter five years older than she is.
"Cheryl is sarcastic, wise-cracking
and funny. I basically get to say what
everyone is thinking."
Shor says an ensemble makes for a

much better working environment.
"All the people in the cast are actors,
not stars, and no one is on an ego
trip," she says. "It's not about one per-
son [but] about all of us trying to work
on something together and equally."
Then Came You was inspired by the
real-life story of co-creator and writer
Betsy Thomas, a 1984 Country Day
School graduate who was raised in
Franklin. When she got a divorce, she
moved into a hotel in Los Angeles and
began a May-December romance with
a room service waiter.
"It's so ironic that both of us are
from Detroit," laughs Shor.
One of the premises of the show is
that sometimes you have to change
your life in search of happiness. And
Shor has been able to do just that in
the pursuit of her dreams.
Born in Minneapolis, the future
performer moved to Italy with her
family when she was just a little more
than a year old. After two years in
Venice, the Shors moved back to the
United States and settled in Highland
Park, Mich., and then in Oak Park, "a
more Jewish neighborhood," says her
father, Francis Shor, a professor in the
interdisciplinary studies program at
Wayne State University.
When Miriam was in elementary
school, her parents divorced. She

SUNDAY, APRIL 9

7:30

p.m.

Congregation Shaarey Zedek • 27375 Bell Road, Southfield

Current donors to Federation's Annual Campaign:
Your donation entitles you to two
complimentary tickets to the concert. -

Non-donors: $10 per ticket
(donated to Federation's Annual Campaign)

Children: complimentary admission

For more Information,
call Allison Rabinovitz, (248) 203-1497,
or rabinovitz@jfmd.org

We would like to thank the following event sponsors:
Ben N. Teitel Charitable Trust
Marta and Ben Rosenthal
Michael and Elaine Serling
Nancy and Stephen Grand

0

T his is -ecle-esotion

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4/7

2000

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