dertainment JOE WM'S Inc 1 Extraordinary Seafood • Whole Maine Lobster • Soft Shell Crabs • And dozens of other seafood and grill choices • Black Sea Bass • Flounder Stuffed with Crabmeat • Eastern Halibut Big Fish Composer James Kaplan reels in a big one with "Guys on Ice," opening at Detroit's Gem Theatre. SUZANNE CHESSLER Special to the Jewish News jr Reservations 248-644-5330 Experience the Difference 00055 9c3utlifiehd Rd. at 10 Mile Rd. S outhfield With The Simone :tale Band (j r 48) 544-7373 tASTY INDIAN RESTAURANT Authentic SOUTH INDIAN & NORTH INDIAN CUISINE -SPECIALIZING IN EXOTIC KERALA DISHES- • CLAY OVEN #t TANDOOR • VEGETARIAN SPECIALITIES • CHICKEN • LAMB -• GOAT • FISH • SHRIMP 810-268-2333 CARRY OUT CATERING 2079 15 MILE RD.AT DEQUINDRE BUFFET Mon - Fri II AM - 2:30 PM $6.99 Sat - Sun 11:30 -3:00 PM $7.99 0% OFF • WITH THIS AD STEAKS • CHOPS • SEAFOOD • PIZZA • BROASTED CHICKEN SANDWICHES • APPETIZERS • HOMEMADE DESSERTS ' A Ft • 13 r le, BAR-B-QUE RIBS & CHICKEN PIT 27454 Gratiot • Roseville • (1/4 mile N. of 1-696 Ribs Si Chicken Spirits S Eatery 810-775-2220 fax/carry out 810-775-7119 Hours: Sun-Thurs 1 1 -1 1 • Fri & Sat 1 1 -1 2am Senior Citizen Discount .• • PICK-UP CATERING FOR YOUR HOME OF OFFICE PARTIES Maims' Liman • Saw • Ihodealls • Ilawsts • PkIplIp Catalog • Carry-id 2/1 2002 82 1= 11F-Til ■ • 1-696 A N LUNCH OR DINNERCA RRY-OUT 50% OFF 10% 0111" Buy 1 lunch or Dinner Entree & Get 2nd at includes Doily Specials! second mod must be ol equal or 101301 Valle. One coupon per • t No db.. di„,,,, °Frei , oppfy w eh coupon person. Excludes dinner for iwo No other discount offers apply:: Does not apply to pick up cdortng with coupon with coupon. No groups grower than 4. Expires 2/28/001( r No groups greater than 4 Eyptos 2/28/0 1 ames Kaplan, like the charac- ters in a musical he helped develop, might seem to be treading on some thin ice as he plans out his return to more solid ground. The composer's situation has nothing to do with the success of his musical comedy Guys on Ice, which debuts Feb. 7 at the Gem Theatre for an open-ended run. The problem has to do with his finding some fresh career directions after the unexpected death of his writing part- ner, Fred Alley, who last May had a fatal heart attack while jogging. Guys on Ice recently became the biggest box office hit ever at the Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea. It is being picked up by small theaters around the country. The two main characters in the show are ice fishermen, best-friends who corn- municate in some stereotypical male ways. During the characters' time in the spotlight, the audience witnesses some of their superficial amusements while learn- ing what's really going on in the depths of their lives. Their dialogue and antics provide broad-based humor that takes an emotional twist. The Purple Rose cast — Joseph Albright, Paul Hopper and Tom Whalen — reprise their roles for the Gem under the direction of Anthony Caselli. Originally, Guys on Ice was written with some backing from the Wisconsin Sesquicentennial Commission, says Kaplan. "It addresses an aspect of Wisconsin culture that has translated well in .-a lot of places. It's been performed in Oregon and is going to upstate New York and California." Perfect Partnership Kaplan and Alley were build- ing a strong string of musi- cals after setting up shop James Kaplan: His "Guys on Ice" recently became the biggest box office hit ever at the Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea. at the American Folklore Theatre (AFT) in Wisconsin's Door County, a resort area. "When Fred died, we were geared up to go into production for the AFT summer season," says Kaplan, 39, only slightly older than his late co-writer. "It brought Fred's closest friends and asso- ciates together with work to do. "We did a brand-new musical that Fred was not a part of, and we redid Lumberjacks in Love, which has been a very popular show that Fred and I wrote. We staged the revival in his honor, and I think it was probably the best circumstance for helping people grieve. "Fred and I wrote six musical come- dies together, and the last three we thought of as a trilogy because they all were about men isolated from women and how they went about their lives." Kaplan, who learned the piano at his family home in New Jersey and spent a semester at the Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts, never thought seriously about pursuing a theater career until he met Alley at a California electronics store. Kaplan was a full-time employee; Alley worked there only part of the year, to supple- ment his seasonal income at AFT. As their friendship developed in the early 1990s, Kaplan showed samples of music he had written to Alley, and