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CLASSICAL NarEs

Russian-born Jewish violinist Philippe Quint, who
has taken master classes with Isaac Stern, Itzhak
Perlman and Arnold Steinhardt among others, fol-
lows his 2002 appearance with the DSO at Meadow
Brook with a Pro Musica Society of Detroit recital 8
p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Detroit Institute of
Arts Recital Hall (accessible from the Woodward
Avenue entrance only; doors open at 6:45 p.m.).
Accompanied by pianist David Riley, Quint will per-
form works by Leclair, Cowell, Tchaikovsky, Foss,
Ravel and Gershwin. $35. (313) 833-4005.
Polish contralto Ewa Podles performs a recital 8
p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Detroit Opera House.
$20-$65. (313) 237-7464.
Playing Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, violinist
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg joins the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra, in concerts also featuring
works by Eastern European composers Eduard Tubin
and George Enescu, 10:45 a.m. and 8 p.m. Friday
and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5-6, at the Max M.
Fisher Music Center. $21-$86. (313) 576-5111.

POP/ROCK/JAZZ/FOLK

A master of the tabla (paired, melodic Indian

`Boy Gets Girl'

SUSAN ZWEIG
Special to the Jewish News

I

f the hysteria over Sex and the City's final
episode was any indication, the age-old question
of whether single women should pair off into
relationships or stand resolutely on their
own holds more than passing social import.
As Jewish Ensemble Theatre's riveting pro-
duction of Rebecca. Gilman's Boy Gets Girl
shows, being a smart, single woman in America's
seemingly enlightened workforce can prove extremely
satisfying. Gilman's caution seems directed toward
the well-meaning women in our lives so eager to
blindly fix us up.
Encouraged by one such well-meaning meddler,
journalist Theresa Bedell (Barbara Coven) goes against
her better instincts to meet Tony (Richard Marlatt) for
a drink The appealing, fly-on-the-wall audience van-
tage point of their blind date quickly gives way to dis-
comfort. Despite several highly peculiar comments
from Tony, Theresa defies her gut again to accept his

SOUTHFIELD PAVILION
ANTIQUES EXPOSITION
FEBRUARY 27,28 & 29

2/27

Friday 2-9 Saturday 10-6 Sunday 12-5

2004

ADMISSION IS ONLY $5.00 WITH THIS AD!

38

Players Guild of Dearborn presents
playwright Scott McPherson's drama
with comedy Marvin's Room, about
estranged sisters who come together
when one develops cancer and can
no longer care for her ill relatives,
March 5-21. Call for show times.
$11. (313) 561-TKTS.

drums), Indian musician Sandip Burman
takes the stage, with special guest multi-
instrumentalist Judy Piazza, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 29, at The Ark in Ann Arbor.
$15. (734) 761-1451.
Sure to play "The Unicorn," the Irish
Rovers perform in concert 8 p.m. Friday,
March 5, at the Ford Community and
Performing Arts Center in Dearborn. $29-
$32. (313) 943-2354.

GAIL ZIMMERMAN
Arts & Lift Editor

ON THE STAGE

Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater presents a pro-
duction of Shakespeare's Othello 8 p.m. Thursday
and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 4-7, at the Power Center in Ann
Arbor. $16-$50. (734) 764-2538.
WSU's Bonstelle Theater mounts a production of
Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca's drama
The House of Bernarda Alba 8 p.m. Fridays and
Saturdays and 2 .p.m. Sundays, March 5-14. $8-
$10. (313) 577-2960.
Ridgedale Players of Troy stage Frank Loesser and
Abe Burrows' Guys and Dolls 8 p.m. Fridays and
Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, March 5-28. $14-
$15. (248) 988-7049.

request for another date.
One can almost hear Theresa's self-talk, the perenni-
al good girl qof giving a poor guy the benefit of the
doubt. Word to the good girls: The gut rarely lies.
The stalking, predatory odyssey that unfolds is soft-
ened by Theresa's co-workers, in a professional playing
field that's compassionate and refreshingly leveled.
Colleagues Mercer Stevens and Howard Siegel (Neil
Necnstro and Fred Buchalter) go out of their way for
Theresa, empathetically attempting to deconstruct
the inexplicable, somehow guilty by the
association of simply being male.
But the real misdeed here is betrayal,
seemingly only a female trait in Gilman's play.
Breaching the unwritten laws of friendship and com-
mon sense, women are more concerned about Theresa
being alone than of her ultimate security, as if the for-
mer was decidedly more threatening.
Hailed by Time magazine as "the finest, most dis-
turbing American play in years," in less capable
hands, even material this realistically written can fal-
ter. JET Artistic Director Evelyn Orbach, who direct-
ed this play, elicits stunning performances from her
well-chosen cast and script; her JET production is
thoroughly consuming.
Barbara Coven portrays Theresa with breathtaking

thiCHIGAN , s
FAMOUS

Southfield Pavilion
Antiques Exposition

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DANCE FEVER

Combining classical ballet and mod-
ern and ethnic dance styles, Dance
Theatre of Harlem performs 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8
p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 4-7, at the Detroit Opera House.
$25-$58. (313) 237-7464.

THE SMALL SCREEN

Cable station Turner Classic Movies (TCM) pres-
ents Richard Schickel's new documentary Charlie:
The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin, featuring
newly recorded interviews with directors Woody
Allen and Milos Forman, mime Marcel Marceau,
and Chaplin collaborators David Raskin and Claire
Bloom, 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 3. An 11-film

naturalism, receding from strength and a tightly spun
persona to unravel into the ravages of fear, anger and
self-blame; Robert Grossman's Les Kennkat is charm-
ing, touchingly honed, a fading Russ Meyers-esque
auteur with a heart as big as any of his starlet's natural
endowments. Neil Necastro's passionate Mercer is
carefully refined, deftly played; Fred Buchalter gives
Howard a gallant, humane, almost paternal turn.
Richard Marlatt's awkward Tony keeps the audience
appropriately on edge.
Monika Essen's set offers numerous locales through
spartan, essential prop choices and creative use of lev-
els. Mary Copenhagen's costumes distinctively struc-
ture each character. The only quibble here is with the
vapid sound effects of Theresa's laptop.
In the end, to hide from a pursuer, Theresa must be
willing to give up everything: her home, her job, her
freedom, her very name.
Ironic perhaps, but in pursuit of the ultimate
boy-gets-girl thriller called marriage, women used
to willingly trade in many of those same self-
defining details. -1

Boy Meets Girl runs through March 21 at JET.
$25-$32. (248) 788-2800.

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