Arts & Entertainment LOOKING For Spirituality Composer gives voice to what cannot be expressed by words alone. Suzanne Chessler Special to the Jewish News j Jane Roman Pitt: "My lyrics search for deeper values." Simple Sketch Pollack constructs slender monument to architect Frank Gehry. Michael Fox Special to the Jewish News 48 June 8 • 2006 R arely has a film been so aptly titled as Sketches of Frank Gehry. A reference to the raw drawings that the world-famous archi- tect roughs out as his first step toward a new building, it precise- ly describes the documentary's superficiality. The film offers confirmation, through brief illustration of Gehry's working methods and a travelogue of his major build- ings, that the man who designed the remarkable Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, has an extraordinarily free imagination and a brilliant visual sense. But if you're curious about what made Gehry turn out so different from everyone else in his field, or the role of architec- ture in the modern urban world, you won't glean much insight here. Sketches of Frank Gehry is little more than a congratula- tory, non-probing portrait of the genius as an ordinary guy. Sketches of Frank Gehry is scheduled to open Friday, June 16, at the Landmark Maple Art Theatre in Bloomfield Township. It also is scheduled to air in September as part of PBS' American Masters series. Devoid Of Drama The L.A.-based architect has been a friend for some years with another Jewish power player, the Hollywood producer, director and actor Sydney Pollack. Approached by several film- makers about being the subject of a documentary, Gehry turned them down and convinced Pollack to shoot it. Unfortunately, that's not only the raison d'etre of the film ane Roman Pitt usually observes holidays at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, but she is celebrating the Shabbat of June 9 with mem- bers of Temple Beth El. Pitt, a composer-lyricist focused on spiritual themes, is eager to hear one of her songs included in the Friday evening service. Cantor Rachel Gottlieb will lead the Bloomfield Township temple choir in a per- formance of "I Am of Sarah: a song Pitt wrote to pay tribute to women of Jewish heritage. "Although I mention the women who are well known from our past, `I Am of Sarah' was directly inspired by my 95- year-old mother-in-law, Sarah Pitt:' says the composer-lyricist, 56, a Birmingham resident. "She is a shining example of a Jewish woman who deeply appreciates her heritage and has given back a great deal to the Jewish commu- nity. She is my example of a life but its structure, for Sketches of Frank Gehry is largely propelled by snippets of their conversa- tions and interviews. They discuss their shared REVIEW creative concerns — fear of the blank canvas, pleasing the cli- ent (or audience) without overly compromising and balancing art and commerce — but there's something ridiculous about a middling Hollywood director putting himself on the same plane as an architectural giant. Indeed, an air of smugness cloaks the film that cannot be attributed to Gehry. Blame it instead on the abundance of nar- cissistic shots of Pollack filming his friend with a small digital well lived." Pitt's song, written 10 years ago, fits right in with Beth El's Sisterhood Shabbat program, which is being arranged by the women's group. "This song actu- ally is an excerpt from a cantata commissioned by Cantor Harold Orbach for Temple Israel," Pitt explains. "It aims to connect today's Jewish women with their religious heritage. "I believe there is a genera- tional continuity among Jewish women that often goes unspoken. Even though our lifestyles are so different from 100 years ago or 1,000 years ago, Judaism makes a connection that is present among all of us:" Pitt, who grew up in Oberlin, Ohio, connected to music through her parents, Oscar and Frances Roman. The couple met as members of a temple choir in Cleveland. Her dad became a music teacher, and her mom per- formed in community musical programs. "My folks used to have cham- ber music sessions in our home, and it was wonderful to hear camera. The bigger problem is that the documentary is shapeless and devoid of drama. This isn't a rags-to-riches story, nor is it enlivened by a midlife crisis, out- sized failure or late-career come- back. We are left yearning for a far more insightful and useful film that, say, would follow Gehry from start to finish of a single commission. Goldberg To Gehry He was born Frank Goldberg in Toronto, and he confides that he changed his name at the insis- tence of his first wife. He was dominated by her he says, but offers no further elaboration on his relationship to his Jewish identity. Gehry was commissioned to design the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, but the film also