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Reality TV

It was only a matter of time before the
American bar/bat mitzvah became the
subject of a reality TV show.
The Bravo channel's Party/Party, an
eight-part, one-hour series that follows
the lives of 16 diverse families as they

Annabel Schwartz, right, enjoyed a hip-

hop dance troupe flown in from Martha's

Vineyard at her $200,000 bat mitzvah in

New York.

put major time, energy and cash into
the planning and preparation of their
special shindig, explores the contrasting
ways in which two very different fami-
lies celebrate similar events.
Each episode unveils the nonstop
mania over the smallest details — from

oris Franco's Month

l a

(1)

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Handsome actor James Franco, 27,
is best known for his co-starring role
as Spider-Man's former best friend,
Harry Osborn, in
the Sp ider-Man
movies. But this
may be the
month Franco
emerges from the
shadow of Spidy's
web.
Franco, whose
James Franco
mother is Jewish,
co-stars as
Tristan in Tristan and 'snide, opening
Jan. 13. This telling of the famous tale
of love and death in Arthurian times is

January 12 2006

the invitation list and venue to the ideal
party attire and selection of music — as
parents, children, spouses and party-
planners all vie to put in their two cents
before coming to a final decision.
On the Tuesday, Jan. 17, bar/bat mitz-
vah episode, which debuts at midnight,
San Diego's Stephanie Lewis tries to
throw an-over-the-top bash for her
twin sons Dustin and Benjamin
while spending no more than
$10,000 (she has to make her own
centerpieces). Meanwhile, New York's
Carol Ann Schwartz will blow a
$200,000 wad on the bat mitzvah of
her daughter Annabel, with the aid
of her professional party-planner
mother.
For repeat show times of
Party/Party, go to the Web site at
www.bravotv.com .

Studs & Schwartz
Village Players of Birmingham
mounts a production of Working Jan.
13-29. Based on
the best-selling
book of inter-
views with
American work-
ers by Jewish
• author Studs
Terkel and adapt-
Studs Terkel

the pet project of famous directors-
producers Tony and Ridley Scott.
Franco also has the lead role in
Annapolis, a big budget, pull-on-your-
heartstrings story about a poor kid
who gets into the Naval Academy but
screws up during his first year. He tries
to redeem himself by winning the
Academy's boxing tourney.

Sex & The Linguini

HBO thinks the life of
famous food writer Ruth
Reichl has all the ingredients of
a TV series and has just
financed a pilot based on her
memoirs.
Reichl, 57, is the daughter of

Ruth

ed for the stage by Jewish composer
Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), Working
explores the American workday using
the original words of some 26 workers,
including a parking lot attendant, cor-
porate executive, newsboy, school-
teacher, housewife,
fireman and wait-
ress, who sing and
talk about their jobs,
defining not only
their daily grind but
their hopes and
aspirations as well.
Stephen
To match the
Schwartz
mosaic quality of
the book, Schwartz
recruited a collec-
tion of songwriters to create the 1978
score with him, including James Taylor,
Micki Grant, Craig Carnelia, Mary
Rodgers and Susan Birkenhead.
Village Players is located at 34660
Woodward, two blocks south of Maple.
Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and
Saturdays, with 2 p.m. Sunday matinees
on Jan. 22 and 29. For information and
tickets, call (248) 644-2075 or go to
www.birminghamvillageplayers.com .

Cool Classics

In November, the Detroit Symphony
Orchestra — with a new series titled

a German Jewish refugee father and an
American Jewish mother. Ruth's moth-
er, a Ph.D., suffered from manic-
depression. One of her symptoms was
buying any food, however spoiled, that
seemed a bargain. So Ruth, before she
was 10, appointed herself "guardian of
the guests."
She says: "My mission was to keep
Mom from killing any-
body who came to din-
ner."
Reichl, a University of
Michigan graduate;
became a chef with a
Berkeley co-op that was
part of the new
California cuisine move-
Reichl

"Classics Unmasked" — offered a new
way to experience classical music. The
series, which incorporates multimedia
technology and direct interaction
between the conductor and the audi-
ence, continues with "Fireworks:' a triple
play of popular works under the baton
of Britain's Nicholas McGegan, who will
share his insightful commentary about
the works performed 8 p.m. Thursday,
Jan. 12; 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14; and
3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15.
Audience members will experience
live film footage of the orchestra pro-
jected onto giant screens on either side
of the Orchestra Hall stage, presenting,
close-ups of the conductor's and musi-
cians' hands and faces. A free pre-con-
cert talk with Associate Conductor
Charles Greenwell in the Music Box
recital hall and post-concert talk with
the conductor and soloists, also in the
Music Box, bookend the concerts.
The program includes Beethoven's
Violin Concerto, with Russian violin
soloist Viktoria Mullova; Schubert's
"Unfinished" Symphony No. 8: and
Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks.
Tickets are $19-$69 (a limited number
of box seats are available for $60-$114).
(313) 576-5111 or
www.detroitsymphony.org. ❑

ment of the 1970s. She went on to be
the food critic of the Los Angeles Times
and the New York Times, and was
famous for concealing her identity so
restaurants would not treat her in a
special manner.
In recent years, she became the chief
editor of Gourmet magazine and has
written two books of memoirs-recipes.
Besides saving dinner guests and
being a "stealth" critic, other "HBO-
attractive" details include Reichl's
extramarital affair with the Jewish
man who is now her husband and giv-
ing birth to her first child at age 40.
Celebrity Jews on page 49