s
'The fine dining
Chinese restaurant
in Fartningtonl -filic
has a sophisticated
feel a/Id an exotic
mente
-Sylvia Rector,
ing activities for the oldest and
largest entertainment organization in
the world.
"We just donated a half-million
dollars to the relief funds of the
American Red Cross and the Twin
Towers Fund, and every year we do
our big Friars roast," says Roman,
who has brought a special, The Big
Room, to comedy cable. "We're roast-
ing Hugh Hefner (founder of Playboy
magazine) this year and have taped
our program."
Passion For Jerusalem
A more serious performance comes
to the Balfour stage with a presenta-
tion of international Jewish songs by
Mizrahi, the cantor of Chicago's his-
toric Anshei Emet Synagogue, which
serves as one part of his busy career
that takes him on tour and into
recordina studios.
Mizrahi's
b range has opened oppor-
tunities with prestigious orchestras
(such as the New York Philharmonic,
the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
and the Jerusalem Symphony
Orchestra) and less formal jazz
groups (such as the Dave Brubeck
Quartet). His 12 recordings include
Songs of Jerusalem and Gems of the
Yiddish Theater.
"I'm going to perform a mix of
songs that evoke the Jewish people's
love and passion for Jerusalem and
Israel," says the cantor, who will be
accompanied by Linda Hall Gerson,
pianist and coach at the
Metropolitan Opera for 20 years.
"The songs will show different
sides of our Jewish community,
which means I'll do some Sephardic,
Oriental, Spanish and Greek
favorites."
Mizrahi, who moved from Greece
"My act is always evolving, but I
start it very differently in light of
what's happening in the world," says
Alper, who will appear Saturday, Oct.
13, at Temple Israel. "Frequently, I
perform in front of an ark, and I
hope people will use the divine gift of
laughter to strengthen themselves
against the ugliness."
The rabbi calls attention to the
Bible and the name Abraham and
Sarah gave to their late-life child —
Yitzchak, which means laughter.
Although the rabbi is making his
first appearance at Temple Israel, he is
making his 13th in Michigan. "I
always talk about Detroit when I visit
Michigan," says Alper, whose humor
to the United States as a child, can
sing in nine languages. His Michigan
stop falls into a schedule that is tak-
ing him to Israel, Spain and England,
where he will appear with the BBC
Singers. He has previously performed
at Congregation Shaarey Zedek and
Temple Israel.
"I do everything from solo recitals
at synagogues to opera, and I have a
group called Pitiko, which features
jazz fusions of Jewish music,"
Mizrahi says. "Pitiko, a form of my
Greek name, is about to put out an
album.
"I'm also a member of Three
Jewish Tenors, and we recently sang
with the Atlanta Symphony and the
Houston Symphony."
One of Mizrahi's most enduring
performances involves "Gates of
Justice," a piece commissioned by the
Hebrew Union College and com-
posed by Dave Brubeck. It deals with
the relationship between blacks and
Jews and requires two soloists — a
baritone and a tenor. The cantor has
performed this work all over the
country over the past 10 years and
recently made a recording of it.
"I've devoted my life to Jewish
music, and I feel my life means
something more than it might have
because of what I can do to promul-
gate, promote and show the beauty
of our great Jewish musical tradi-
tion." ❑
0‹...1.-;,`-t Free Press,
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• Excellent _
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27925 ORCHARD LAKE ROAD • FARMINGION HILLS
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Bob Alper appears 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 13, at Temple
Israel in West Bloomfield. $18
advance/$20 door. Children
under 11 will not be admitted.
(248) 661-5700.
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first came to public attention through
talks to his Reform congregations in
Buffalo and Philadelphia, where he
continues to conduct High Holiday
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"People who've been in my audi-
ence lately have thanked me for giv-
ing them a chance to relieve some of
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