Arts Entertainment

•

fi

h

I)

Gourmet Marketplace
k,
Bakery • Catering
6()92 W Maple at Farmington Rd.

(248) 855-3354 (DELI)

COUPON

Local comedian gets a second chance at the Second City.

PURCHASE$25
OR MORE
ND RECEIVE
5 OFF YOUR
4
NTIRE BILL

I

BILL CARROLL
Special to the Jewish News

(excludes catering)

MEM

■

•

MEM

Expires 5/17/02

MIK

REMEMBER MOM ON

MOUE'S DAY

SUNDAY, MAY 12
WITH A BEAUTIFUL
CUSTOM TRAY OR BASKET

SEE OUR CHEESE DISPLAY

t

SHIVA

TRAYS & BASKETS

•Dairy or Deli
•Candy • Pastry. Nuts, Etc.

4

Pa0N-FR! 6:30 77 • SAT 8-7
SUN 873.

—,41WAVAIMAVAMI_VMol.MIMOVAIFAIJ/WANW

OPEN
MOTHER'S DAY

May 12th • 3-8 pm
, Regular Menu M.

MUSASHI

JAPANESE CUISINE

AND SUSHI BAR

Ask, about oar
8irthii9) Viiscouftt

• Catering Delivery

• Private Room & Banquet Facilities
• Open 7 days a week

5/10

2002

96

2000 Town Center
(10 1/2 Mile & Evergreen)
Southfield (248) 358-1911
http://wwwmusashi-intl.com

Coming Home

IV ith a degree from
Syracuse University and
a brief taste of the tough
New York City show
business scene, a 28-year-old Jewish
comedian has returned to her roots
and is making a name for herself in
the Second City's latest comedy revue
in downtown Detroit.
Lisa Maxine Melinn also is making
Detroit show business history as the
first Jewish main-stage performer to
play the Second City, appearing
through August in the group's 22nd
revue. This two-hour show is one of
the best so far, with a talented six-
member cast that fires off skit after
skit like quick-change artists.
Melinn, formerly of West
Bloomfield and now of Detroit, uses a
strong voice and a Gilda-Radneresque
quality to get her share of laughs and
applause in Jihad It Up To Here, a
show that stirs up some controversy —
beginning with the use of "Jihad" in
the title. The Arabic word means "to
struggle or strive," but it has become
notorious in recent years by its associa-
tion with the Islamic Jihad group
linked to Middle East terrorism and
suicide attacks on Israel.
"Our theater's mission is to do social
and political commentary," said
Melinn, "and we're always trying to
make a point, so we have to do it
where we see fit. Actually, 'Jihad' is
mentioned only one time in one line at
the end of a song. We threw in the line
as sort of an afterthought to connect
with the show's name. We always come
up with about 200 names for any new
show before we settle on the final one."

Humor With Bite

Melinn's-big number is a song that
really doesn't have a title, although she
affectionately calls it "The Jew Song."
It's the lament of an American Jewish
woman in real-life situations, at home
in a "condo in West Bloomfield" and
in the workplace, using several
Hebrew words from the Torah bless-
ings. Melinn, who grew up in West
Bloomfield and celebrated her bat
mitzvah at Congregation Shaarey

The cast of "Jihad It Up To Here"• Left to right, Ki Vanden Heuvel, Kirk Hanley Jeff
Fritz, Antoine McKay Cheri Johnson and Lisa Maxine Melinn. "We try our best to make
each performance pure entertainment. That's the main thing," says Lisa Maxine Melinn.

Zedek, combines a partial accent,
facial expressions and arm movements
to create a character who's uncannily
close to reality.
Besides touching on the fighting
between the Israelis and the
Palestinians, the revue's satire covers
such subjects as the devastation in
Afghanistan, the "N-word" in Detroit,
a huge metal sculpture of a vagina at
an art fair, the new Northwest Airlines
terminal at Metro Airport, junk food,
hip-hop music, and, in a more serious
vein, an African-American couple who
meet in a bookstore.
The opening skit alludes to "the
good old days" of such high-riding
stocks as Enron and Kmart, a time
when Rudy Giuliani was unknown in
most of America. In one skit, an air-
line crew performs a "tribute to

America" during its seat-belt-and-oxy-
gen-mask announcement.
A running gag throughout the show
is about a security checkpoint near an
airline gate where "check-in time is
now nine hours and 45 minutes" —
and rising.
"We try to focus on the post-Sept.
11 period from sort of a philosophical
standpoint, and how the tragedy
affected the people and society,"
Melinn explained. "We don't dwell on
the tragic event itself."
She co-wrote some of the sketches
with fellow cast members Cheri
Johnson, Jeff Fritz, Kirk Hanley,
Antoine McKay and Kiff Vanden
Heuvel. They perform Thursday-
Sunday nights, then tweak and
rehearse Jihad Tuesday and Wednesday
while also writing material for a new