"From the Beginning"

captures the

complex aspects

of being Jewish and gay.

DEBRA ISAACS
Special to the Jewish News

T

Above:
The cast of
"From the Beginning"
includes, back row fi-om left,
Michael J. Phillips (Nate),
Tara Wasserman (Susan),
Kristi Sorkin (Jenny), Alan '"
Ellias (David); middle row
om le , Linda Rabin
amme l (Rachel), Patty
Ceresnie ( udith); front row
from le t, Darrell Glasgow
(Aaron), Randy Barrett
- Topper (Jacob).
Right: Alan Ellias
and Darrell Glasgow
rehearse their lines.

6/2
2000

74

he candlesticks are set out, the tablecloth is
smoothed and the bustle is on. Susan and Jenny,
longtime partners, trip over each other prepar-
ing for their Shabbat guests, and while there are
big things on their minds — the-two will break the news
to their friends that Susan is pregnant — Jenny is anxious
about the overcooked egg noodles.
The evening begins gently among friends — a flirtation,
a little dishing — then opens onto a spirited conversation
had countless times among Jews of all stripes, from time
immemorial: Can one reject aspects of Judaism and still be
a practicing Jew? If Judaism rejects homosexuality, can
homosexuals sincerely embrace Judaism?
The scene is emblematic of From the Beginning I Did
Not Speak in Secret, a play co-written by two gay men
and a lesbian from Minneapolis who set out 1 1 /2 years
ago to capture the complex aspects of being Jewish and
homosexual.
Arlene Sorkin and Linda Lee of the
Michigan Jewish AIDS Coalition
(MJAC) were so taken with the play at
the Illusion Theatre in Minneapolis
The Cast
last year that they immediately offered
to bring it to Detroit. It will be pre-
Judith: Patty Ceresnie
sented as part of MJAC's Educating
Rachel: Linda Rabin
Our Community About
Hammell
Homosexuality Through Outreach
(ECHO) progam, a curriculum used
Jenny: Kristi Sorkin
generally and in schools to teach toler-
Susan: Tara Wasserman
ance. ECHO sponsors yearly forums
Aaron: Darrell Glasgow
on subjects ranging from homosexuali-
David: Alan Ellias
ty and Judaism to having a gay relative.
"What's neat is that we can use this
Jacob: Randy Topper
in the future," Sorkin said of the play,
Nate: Michael Phillips
a first for ECHO. "We'll videotape it,
and some scenes will be used for our
future education. There are mono-
The Community:
logues by various characters that are
extremely moving, one of them by a
David Botharnly
16-year-old boy who talks about what
Ross Grossman
it's like to be in high school and feel
Jay Kaplan
these things and talk to his parents
Miriam Menczer
about it. Those are scenes we can use
Katie Werner
for discussion. An elderly character
talks about his partner, and he could