Arts si Life
At The Theater
Art Imitates Life
Married couple play romantic pair in Farmington Players' production of "Proof"
SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
roof, the next production of the
Farmington Players, doesn't
require a lot of acting when it
comes to the romantic portrayal of the
two main characters. The roles have
been given to a married couple.
Sheri Gritt Shapiro and Evan Shapiro,
who appear as Catherine and Hal, feel
very comfortable about their affectionate
scenes.
"It's certainly more comfortable dur-
ing rehearsals," say Sheri Gritt Shapiro,
who has experienced less comfortable
moments connecting with unknown
stage partners. "Besides, there's a lot to
think about when you're following direc-
tions and trying to make a certain
impact on the audience."
David Auburn's Proof, which won the
Tony Award for Best Play and the
Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2001, pairs
up the daughter of a famous mathemati-
cian with one of his students. After the
father's death, the daughter questions
whether she has inherited her dad's
instability as well as his genius.
"I like that this is an intellectual play,"
says Sheri Gritt Shapiro, 31, an automo-
tive marketing manager. "There often
are double meanings to the lines, and
the humor is sophisticated. Catherine is
very passionate about issues, and that's
similar to me."
Theater has been important to
Shapiro since her days at Southfield
Lathrup High School, where she
appeared in A Chorus Line and You're a
Good Man, Charlie Brown. While
attending the University of Michigan in
Ann Arbor, Shapiro worked backstage
on productions and took a limited num-
ber of theater classes.
As advanced business studies and jobs
took Shapiro to other cities, including
Chicago and Los Angeles, the stage
enthusiast was able to find an enjoyable
market for her acting talents. While liv-
ing on the West Coast, she was hired as
an extra for a number of TV shows,
appearing in a courtroom in Ally
McBeab portraying a culinary student in
Providence and bidding in an auction in
Charmed
"It was so much fun to be part of
that," says Shapiro, whose husband was
in an improv group, Comedy Sports,
before going on to Thomas Jefferson
University in Philadelphia as a medical
student. A graduate of Bloomfield Hills
Cranbrook, he had his bar mitzvah at
Adat Shalom Synagogue.
The Shapiros, who live in Farmington
Hills, met in Philadelphia, where she
was earning her master's degree in busi-
ness administration at the University of
Pennsylvania. After marrying at
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in 2001,
they settled into their home state and
later joined the Farmington Players.
Although attending her first member-
ship meeting in 2002, he did not join
the group until a year later.
"I like getting the chance to spend
more time with Sheri," says Shapiro, 30,
an anesthesiologist working on a sub-
specialty in pain management. "I've
been a math and science geek, so I can
relate to the character, and participating
in theater has introduced me to a new
group of people."
While enjoying the theater experience,
the two also enjoy the social experience.
"Theater people are very expressive
and fun," says the actress, who has
appeared in the Farmington Players pro-
duction of Solid Gold Cadillac. "My hus-
band and I have really bonded with this
troupe."
Evan and Sheri Shapiro, front, share a
scene with Dorne L efere in the
Farmington Players production of "Proof"
Proofwill be performed Jan. 28-
Feb. 19, at the Farmington
Players Barn, 32332 W. 12 Mile
Road, in Farmington Hills.
Performances are 8 p.m. Jan. 28-
29, Feb. 4-5, 10-12 and 17-19
and 2 p.m. Jan. 30 and Feb. 6
and 13. $13/$10 on Thursdays
for everyone and for seniors on
Jan. 30 only. (248) 553-2955.
❑
Ethical Conflicts
Drama recezyes support from S_pzelberg's Righteous Persons Foundation.
Ir
itty Felde, journalist and
playwright, is not Jewish,
but she feels connected to
the Jewish community. The link
comes with her experiences sur-
rounding A Patch of Earth, her sixth
play.
The drama, being performed Feb.
3-13 by the Theatre Company of the
University of Detroit Mercy at the
Marygrove College Theatre, deals
with the war crimes tribunal she
covered as a reporter. The tribunal
was addressing actions taken during
the Bosnian conflict.
"It was one of those assignments
that wouldn't leave me," says Felde,
50, a radio talk-show host whose
human rights reporting projects have
brought her a grant from Steven
Spielberg's Righteous Persons
1/27
2005
32
Foundation.
"I have given speeches about my
experience at the Museum of
Tolerance and found that Jewish
audiences just get what I'm talking
about because of their history. If we
don't talk about war crimes today,
we will have other war crimes to talk
about tomorrow."
Felde, host of Talk of the City in
California and married to former
Detroiter and political activist Tad
Daley, will be in town to discuss this
production during the final week of
performances.
The drama, which brought her the
winning place in the Maxim
Mazumdar New Play Competition
in 1999, explores the actions of
Drazen Erdemovic, who fought for
three different armies during the
Bosnian war and was accused of
committing atrocities.
Patrick O'Connor Cronin plays
Drazen under the direction of
Arthur Beer.
"I've covered a lot of court cases,"
says Felde, twice chosen Radio
Journalist of the Year by the Los
Angeles Press Club. "I'm working on
a play based on my experience cov-
ering the war crimes tribunal in
Rwanda." E
— Suzanne Chessler
Patrick O'Connor Cronin as Erdenzovic
Drazen in `>1 Patch of Earth"
A Patch of Earth will be performed Feb. 3-6 and 10-13 at the Marygrove
College Theatre. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays
and 2 p.m. Sundays. There will be talkbacks immediately after performances
Feb. 10-13. $14/$12 seniors, UDM employees and alumni/$8 non-UDM
students with ID/$3 UDM and Marygrove students with ID.
(313) 993-3270 or (313) 927-1563.