Arts Entertainment

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A new executive director crafts
an exciting lineup of performers
for this year's Ann Arbor
Summer Festival.

SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News

vy Warshawski can look back and laugh at her
most stressful experience as an arts presenter, but
at the time, the situation didn't seem very funny
at all. Late in the afternoon before a sold-out
performance, the star, whose name she protects, announced
he wasn't going on stage and would give no reason.
"This was a man who is very fabulous, very popular,
very wonderful out on the stage and yery Jewish, but he
had, what we call in the business, Ca hissy fit,"' remem-
bers Warshawski, the new executive director of the Ann
Arbor Summer Festival, running June 16-July 9 at the
Power Center and the Top of the Park.
"While he was calling his manager, I asked his road
manager what to do. It was really heart-attack material,
and the road manager told me to go home, take a
bath and relax — be-cause he does this before every
show. I took the advice and figured if the phone
didn't ring, I was in great shape.
"I had a great bath, with lots of bubbles,
and the phone didn't ring. When I went
backstage after the show, [the star] was
sitting on a table by himself, and I said,
That was so great!' He gave me a hug, •
and I asked if he would come to the little
party we were having for donors. He
[accepted] and was so sweet, and generous.
"This was nine years ago, and people
still tell me it's the best show, they've ever
seen.. Fortunately, 99 percent of the time
the performers are profeiiional, and
[these problems don't happen]."
Warshawski came to Ann Arbor in
October after lo years as managing direc-
tor of the Edison Theatre on the campus
of Washington University in St. Louis,

Evy Warshawski
on the performers
with whom she
works: "It doesn't
hurt to be a Jewish
mother to them."

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2000

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