A - ts 8r Entertainment

The Price

31525 W. 12 Mile
Farmington Hills, Michigan

Is Right

Special to the Jewish News

T

The Price opens Tuesday, Oct.
17, and runs through Nov.12 at
JEZ's Aaron DeRoy Theatre in
the Jewish Community Center,
6600 West Maple Road, in
West Bloomfield. After the
7:30 p.m. Tuesday opener,
performances are at 7:30
Wednesdays-Thursdays, 5 and
8:30 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m.
Sundays. A special 2 p.m. mati-
nee Wednesday, Nov. 8, replaces
the evening performance that
day. Tickets are $29-$39, with
discounts available for seniors
and students. Rush tickets, at
$17, may be available from an
hour and a half until a half hour
before each performance. (248)
788-2900.

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www.marriott.com/DTWFM

248.553.0000

W. 12 MILE RD.

' O!1 3NVl

ransitioning from the raucous
comedy of Jewish satirist Allan
Sherman to the heavy drama of
Jewish playwright Arthur Miller is like
going from the ridiculous to the sublime.
The Jewish Ensemble Theatre in West
Bloomfield will make that shift in its sec-
ond production of the season, The Price,
opening Tuesday, Oct. 17, and running
through Nov. 12.
Sherman's Hello Muddah, Hello
Fadduh! was one of the most popular
shows in JET'S 18-year history, running
at 90 percent of capacity for five weeks,
according to Artistic Director Evelyn
Orbach. It was even extended for three
days. "I'm proud of the fact it was our big-
gest hit since Fiddler on the Roof which
played for eight weeks a few years ago',' she
said.
The Price, which was staged at JET
in the 1990s, was nominated for a Tony
Award when it premiered in 1968. Miller,
a University of Michigan graduate, was a
prominent figure on the American literary
scene for 61 years, until his death, at 89,
last year.
The Price examines the relationship
of two estranged brothers, who meet after
16 years to dispose of their late father's
belongings. Their father lost almost every-
thing in the 1929 stock market crash, and
died much later, but the sons are just get-
ting around to finishing off his estate. They
learn that an appraiser has uncovered
more than just furniture in an attic.
"The brothers experience nostalgia
and recriminations as they have to come
to terms with their bitter history, which
included a complete lack of communica-
tion," explained Orbach, who also directs
this production.
"A Miller play always has layers of infor-
mation about the subject and the history
of that era, which all comes out during the
performance. The Price is very rich in
probing the depths of human behavior"
The four characters in the play are
Walter Franz, a successful physician, played
by Jewish actor Loren Bass of Ann Arbor;
his brother, Victor Franz, a not-so-suc-
cessful policeman, played by Phil Powers,
also of Ann Arbor; Esther Franz, Victor's

wife, played by Lynnae Lehfeldt of Royal
Oak; and Gregory Solomon, the appraiser,
played by well-known Jewish actor Sol
Frieder of New York.
"Each character is what I call a 'whole'
person',' said Orbach. "They're good, bad,
assertive, depressed, vulnerable, and the
appraiser is especially colorful. He pro-
vides the comic relief.'
The appraiser's role is perfectly suited
to Frieder, 87, who has been acting for 48
years. He played the part previously at the
JET and performed the role this summer
in Massachusetts in a production that
Orbach saw and came away from with
some "keen directorial insights"
Frieder, born into an Orthodox family,
fled from Germany to Switzerland just
before World War II but lost his parents
in the Holocaust. "I got a doctorate in
social science at Lausanne University, then
I came to America in 1949, and began
acting at the age of 30',' he said from his
Manhattan residence. He has appeared
in 35 plays and movies, including sing-
ing roles in Cabaret and as the rabbi in
Fiddler on the Roof
"But my most favorite role was as King
Lear',' he said. "The appraiser character is
sort of flamboyant, sharp, practical and
highly unusual')
Frieder, a life-long bachelor who says,
"But I like girls!" was asked if he has any
plans to retire. He retorts: "No way! I take
whatever roles come to me. Acting is my
life."

ORC HARD

Bill Carroll

c7'

in a scene from The Price

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be your hotel of choice for all your
special occasions.

FAR MIN GTON RD.

Sol Frieder and Lynnae Lehfeldt

JET stages classic
Arthur Miller drama.

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October 12 2006

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