arathon

Michaei Feinstein

Preservation Hail Jazz Band

Ani DiFranco

Ann Arbor's annual three-week summer festival hosts
top-notch entertainment and fun-for-the-family activities.

Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News

Ann Arbor

S fingers Debbie Gravitte,
Michael Feinstein and
Ani DiFranco, instru-
mentalists in Les Yeux Noirs and
the Preservation Hall Jazz Band
and comedians in the Capitol
Steps are among the mainstage
entertainers with Jewish heritage
appearing at this year's Ann
Arbor Summer Festival.
The performance marathon,
which includes big-name stars
alternating between two stages
and local talent in free outdoor
programs, runs June 16-July 9
and is in its 23rd season.
Gravitte, a Tony Award winner,
is part of Bravo Broadway! and
joins two other singers and the
Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra
for a review of theater hits.
Feinstein, in a set titled Romance
Under the Stars, sings and
accompanies himself on piano as
he spotlights standards written
by American composers. Singer-

songwriter DiFranco (daughter of
a Jewish-American mother and
Italian-American father) moves
from raw folk-punk to jazz-funk
grooves.
Les Yeux Noirs, a band started
by Eric and Olivier Slabiak, will
travel from France to present
klezmer and gypsy sounds mixed
with today's music and Yiddish
and other-language lyrics. The
Preservation Hall Jazz Band, led
by Benjamin Jaffe, plans on offer-
ing traditional jazz made famous
in New Orleans.
Most up-to-date will be the
Capitol Steps, a troupe filled with
comics able to bring satire and
parody to national and interna-
tional issues.
"This year's festival will present
artists from across the globe —
some who preserve ancient tradi-
tions and others who shine with
innovation',' says Robb Woulfe,
festival director. "We continue
our commitment to presenting
international and cross-cultural
work as a reflection of our diverse
community."
While mainstage programs will

be divided between the Power
Center for the Performing Arts
and Hill Auditorium, the free
nightly programs, scheduled as
Top of the Park, have been moved
to Ingalls Mall, located in front of
the Horace H. Rackham School of
Graduate Studies.
The Al Goldberg Band, offer-
ing pop and funk beats starting
7 p.m. Tuesday, June 20, enters a
mix of 50 musical groups joined
with films and parties to enlarge
the scope of the festival. Ann
Arbor up-and-coming band Tally
Hall, with pop-rock originals,
entertains 7 p.m. Thursday, July 6.
The name acts listed below and
presented by dates of appear-
ance will be divided between the
Power Center for the Performing
Arts, 121 Fletcher, and Hill
Auditorium, 825 N. University Dr.
Complete information — with
times, prices and associated pro-
grams — are available by calling
(734) 764-2538 or. visiting www.
annarborsummerfestival.org .

For related stories, see page 42.

MAINSTAGE:

June 17: Bravo Broadway!
June 18: "Jungle Jack" Hanna
June 21: Preservation Hall Jazz Band
June 22: Tiempo Libre (with Orquesta Sensational)
June 23: Ani DiFranco
June 24: Michael Feinstein
June 25: Reduced Shakespeare Company
June 27: Les Yeux Noirs
June 28: Susan Tedeschi
June 30: Diavolo
July 1: An Evening With Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood
July 2: Golden Dragon Acrobats
July 4: The Capitol Steps
July 5: Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca
July 7: An Evening With John Waters
July 8: Riders in the Sky

TOP OF THE PARK

Top of the Park events begin 6:30 p.m. and include free concerts, free
movies, food by local restaurants, a beer garden and a place for family and
friends to meet. Movies start at 10 p.m.
Three theme nights, starting at 6:30 p.m. and keeping with mainstage
events, offer family fun and include a Mardi Gras Carnival on June 21, a
Latin Dance Party on June 22 and a Bohemian Street Fair on June 27.

Other activities include:
June 18: Family Day
June 19: Teen Night
June 20, 25, 26: Carillon Concerts

June 15 • 2006

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