All In Fun (Mostly)

Homegrown comedians buoy an ADL event, with a time out for a reality check.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGIE BAAN

ROBIN SCHWARTZ, COLUMNIST

riends and family members of
comedian Jessica Golden were a
tad nervous as almost 360 guests
filed into Knollwood Country
Club in West Bloomfield for the
Anti-Defamation League's annual fall fimd-
raiser.
Golden, of Los Angeles, along with
Jewish comedians Mindy Raf of New
York City and Hanna LoPatin of Chicago
— all of whom grew up in Metro Detroit
— were the featured performers during an
evening of comedy, dinner and drinks called
"Coming Home," which was emceed by Jeff
Dwoskin of West Bloomfield, a comedian
in his own right.
"I get nervous for my daughter for
only one reason," said Richard Golden
of Bloomfield Hills, who has seen her
racy routine before. "This is the Anti-
Defamation League. I hope she doesn't

defame the whole joint."
No worries: All three women got plenty
of laughs. Jessica Golden, who has appeared.
on HBO and E! Entertainment Television,
is currently taking her comedy act across the
country and has a role with Adam Sandler
in the Mike Binder movie Reign Over Me,
which is due out in March.
"I'm pretty much the same onstage as I
am offstage," Golden said. "I just observe
everything that goes on in my life that's
hinny and share it."
Friends and family were not off limits
during the women's routines. Raf, a regular
at several New York City comedy clubs who
has been featured in the New Yorker, sang a
song about her mother freaking out over her
daughter's single status. Meanwhile LoPatin,
a University of Michigan graduate, said her
main concern was offending her parents'
friends. "I rehearsed in front of my mom,"

LoPatin said backstage before her perfor-
mance, "and she's quite worried that I'm
going to embarrass her." She recently com-
pleted a successful run of her one-woman
show, The Sound of One Hanna Clapping at
the Playground Theater in Chicago.
"This is the largest crowd we've ever had,
and we're really excited that all of the per-
formers are homegrown talent," said Betsy
Kellman of Huntington Woods, executive
director of the Bloomfield Township-based
ADL Michigan Region.
While there was a lot to laugh about,
the evening also had a serious side. Kellman
told the crowd, "We're in the fight of our
lives" against Islamic extremism and anti-
Semitism. "I don't want to frighten people,
but the reality is we have to be frightened,"
Kellman said. "There's an anti-Semite
around every corner, and there are threats
against the Jewish community."

"The ADL is the 9-1-1 of the Jewish
community," added Matthew Miller of
Bloomfield Hills, who co-chaired the event
along with his wife, Stephanie, and Ellory
and Chad Zamler, also of Bloomfield Hills.
"In this time of anti-Semitism reaching new
heights, it's important to always be vigilant,
and that's what we're trying to do," Miller
said.
Spotted in the crowd at the Nov. 14
event were: Mary and Jonathan Aaron,
Regina Colton and Marla and Jeffrey
Kaftan, all of Birmingham; Jeff Bigelman
of Berkley; Dale and Bruce Frankel, Enid
and Gary Goodman, Rosalie and Bruce
Rosen, Andrew Moss and Susie and
Norman Pappas, all of Bloomfield Hills;
Michael and Barbara Horowitz, Kim and
Jeff Sakwa and Judi and Brad Schram, all of
West Bloomfield; and Lauren and Jonathan
Sterling of Huntington Woods.

Above, left to right: Hanna LoPatin of Chicago, Mindy Raf of New York City and Jessica Golden of Los Angeles; Jane Gendelman of Waterford and Regina Colton of Birmingham;
and Lauren and Jonathan Sterling of Huntington Woods.

Vir

Above, left to right: Susan Birnholtz of Sylvan Lake and Brian and Jenny Schwartz of West Bloomfield; Jordan Willner of West Bloomfield and Staci and Fabio Giske
of Farmington Hills; Brenda Rosenberg and Marc Gardner, both of Bloomfield Hills; Jeff and Marla Kaftan of Birmingham.

Above, left to right: Denise Parr and Jo-Anne Nosan, both of West Bloomfield, with Ellen Rontal and Sue Kaufman, both of Bloomfield Hills; Wendy and Ben Hubert of West Bloomfield;
and Richard Golden, Seth Golden and Chad Zamler, all of Bloomfield Hills.

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