Arts & Entertai eat

Simon To Sondheim

Plays by Broadway greats highlight JETS new season in renovated theater.

BILL CARROLL
Special to the Jewish News

r

rom Neil Simon to Stephen
Sondheim with plenty in
between" describes Jewish
Ensemble Theatre's 2005-2006 season.
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Neil
Simon's Broadway Bound the last piece
of his acclaimed autobiographical trilo-
gy, opens the season Tuesday, Sept. 20.
Also being staged are a musical revue
with the songs of legendary Broadway
composer Stephen Sondheim, a new
play by Pulitzer Prize winner Donald
Margulies, an adaptation of a best-sell-
ing book by playwright Joan Holden
and the world premiere of a play by
Birmingham author Kitty Dubin.
The setting for JET's five-show season
is the newly renovated Aaron DeRoy
Theater in the Jewish Community
Center, West Bloomfield. For the first
time, Saturday "twilight matinees" have
been added. Ticket prices remain
unchanged.
"Each play this year offers a slice of
humanity — about average people deal-
ing with daily human issues that an
audience can relate to," said JET Artistic
Director Evelyn Orbach of West
Bloomfield.
"They cover thought-provoking issues
that raise our social awareness. And in
our effort to provide something for
everyone's tastes, we'll present our third
musical production ever: Side by Side by
Sondheim, [from] probably the greatest
living Broadway composer."
Previous musicals were Falsettos and
Fiddler on the Roof.

Orbach is excited that JET patrons
will see this season's shows in a refur-
bished theater — although it was a
forced renovation. A sump-pump prob-
lem in the JCC building last year caused
a water buildup, resulting in some mold,
she said. "So we had to tear up the stage
and the seats and fix it over the summer.
But everything is fine now," Orbach
said. "The best thing about it is that we
got new carpets and curtains and a vast-
ly improved lighting system."
Also new this season are 5 p.m. "twi-
light" performances on Saturdays for
each show, pushing the regular Saturday
nigh t performance starting time back to
8:30 p.m. 'And we're pleased that ticket
prices will not go up," said Orbach. "It's
still one of the most affordable ways to
see Broadway-caliber productions any-
where in the country."

The Lineup

Broadway Bound one of 27 plays by the
prolific Simon, will run through Oct.
16.
"Simon is the definitive playwright,"
said Orbach, who is directing Broadway
Bound "Not only is his dialogue
extremely humorous, but his characters
are based on real people, just like many
in the audience. We closed last season
with the first in his trilogy, Brighton
Beach Memoirs, and now we're happy to
open the new season with the last one."
Picking up where Brighton and Biloxi
Blues ended, Broadway Bound finds
Eugene and his older brother, Stanley,
trying to break into the world of profes-
sional comedy writing while coping

with the breakup of their family.
"The family is on a roller coaster of
emotions," said Orbach. "First they're
thrilled, then they're upset, then they're
happy, then they're sad. It's like what
Simon experienced in his own family."
Simon's brother, Danny, a comedy
writer who came up with the idea for
The Odd Couple, died last month at age
86.
Jason Richards and Dax Anderson
will repeat their roles from Brighton
Beach Memoirs, as Eugene and Stanley,
respectively. New York Jewish actor Sol
Frieder, veteran of many Broadway
shows, will come in to play the father,
and local actress Milica Govich takes the
role of the mother.
The second show of the season, run-
ning Nov. 8-Dec. 4, is Nickel & Dimed
by Joan Holden, based on Barbara
Ehrenreich's nonfiction book, which is
subtitled "On (Not) Getting By in
America."
"This story explores the ethical issues
of the minimum wage," said Orbach.
The author lived on the minimum
wage, like about one-third of working
Americans. She describes how a middle-
aged, middle-class woman struggles to
live and pay the rent on $7 an hour."
Barbara Coven and Loretta Higgins
alternate in the role of the working
mother. Others in the cast, handling
multiple parts, are Charlotte Leisinger,
Charlotte Nelson, Mary Jo Cuppone
and Andy Huff. Yolanda Fleischer of
West Bloomfield directs.
Side by Side by Sondheim, Dec. 13-
Jan. 8, which got its name from the
song Side by Side by Side from

Neil Simon's Broadway Bound runs
Sept. 20-Oct. 16 at
Aaron
DeRoy Theatre in the Jewish
Community Center in West .
Bloomfield. Performances are 7:30
p.m. Wednesdays-Thursdays; 5 and
8:30 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m.
Sundays, plus 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
during preview week. Check for
additional matinees. Ticket prices
are $27-$37; discounts for seniors
and students. For information and
tickets, including season tickets, call
(248) 788-2900.

JET's 2005-2006 playwrights include:

J14

9/15
2005

44

Neil Simon

Stephen Sondheim

Sondheim's musical Company is a revue
of some of the composer's biggest hits,
with a cast of three singers and a narra-
tor.
Naz Edwards and Ivan Griffin —
who have "fabulous voices," said Orbach
— will belt out such hits as "Broadway
Baby," "Losing My Mind." and "I'm Still
Here." The director is Harold Jurkewitz.
The show is JET's contribution to the
homage being paid Sondheim in the
year of his 75th birthday. "The songs
depict the sophistication, wit and genius
of one of the most influential figures in
Broadway's history," said Orbach.
"These are songs that helped revolution-
ize musical theater."
In Brooklyn Boy, Feb. 14-March 12,
Margulies, who won the Pulitzer for
Dinner With Friends, describes what
happens to a best-selling author; Eric
Weiss' personal life unravels just as he
becomes famous. "It's a semi-autobio-
graphical story of family, friends and
fame; it's humorous and very rich emo-
tionally," said Orbach. Director is Chris
Bremmer.
Coming ofAge, April 25-May 21, is
the fifth play by Dubin, a former
teacher and social worker. 'As usual,
Kitty Dubin takes some serious themes
and laces them with humor — without
damaging the moving message of the
play," Orbach explained.
"The story is about the baby-boomer
generation, a couple facing marriage
issues and family situations. Like all of
our shows this season, Coming of Age
gives a slice of reality that audiences can
identify with." Gillian Eaton directs. ❑

Donald Margulies

Joan Holden