Arts & Entertainment

Curtain Call

Revivals of some favorite shows hit area
stages in the upcoming week.
Returning to the Fisher Theatre Feb. 12-
24 is Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus'
Mamma Mia!, the hit musical based on
the songs of the Swedish group Abba.
Book writer Catherine Johnson's tale of
family and friendship unfolds on a Greek
island, where, on the eve of her wedding,
a daughter's quest to discover the identity
of her father brings three men from her
mother's past back to the island they last
visited 20 years ago. (Meryl Streep takes on
the role of the mother when the film ver-
sion of the musical comes to the big screen
this summer.)
Keeping the cast on its toes is dance cap-
tain Sara Braslow, a University of Arizona
grad who performs several roles as a
<, swing.
•
"[A swing is] kind of like an understudy,
but we have to know everybody's part;' the
Jewish performer told her alma mater's
newspaper while on tour. "We learn up
to four vocals of every song. Every song
that sounds like it has a back-up track is
actually being sung backstage. So yeah,
we have to learn a lot" Braslow, who grew
up in Cherry Hill, N.J., sailed the western
hemisphere as a performer on Holland

&About

America's MS Nieuw
Simon's alter ego, New
Amsterdam, where
Yorker Eugene Jerome,
she met her husband,
on his way to boot camp
fellow performer Don
in Biloxi, Miss., to train
Daniels.
for World War II. See the
Tuesday through
Tony Award winner for
K
Saturday evening
Best Play Feb. 13-March
performances are
9 at Meadow Brook
at 8 p.m.; Saturday
Theatre on the campus
Gail Zimmerman
and Sunday matinee
of Oakland University
Arts Editor
performances are
in Rochester. $22-$38.
at 2 p.m.; Sunday
(248) 377-3300 or www.
evening performances are at 7:30 p.m.
mbtheatre.org.
$29.50-$73.50. (248)645-6666 or www.
BroadwayInDetroit.com .
Reality TV
Another longtime Detroit fave,
Menopause the Musical, a "silent passage"
Ira Glass started working in public radio
production that parodies 25 classic baby-
in 1978 as an intern at National Public
boomer songs — from "Puff My God I'm
Radio's (NPR) Washington headquarters.
Draggin'" to the disco-beat "Stayin' Awake,
Over the course of the next 17 years, he
Stayin Awake" — returns for a limited
worked on nearly every NPR news show
engagement, Feb. 13-April 6, at the Historic and nearly every production job available.
Gem Theatre in Detroit. Show times are 8
In November 1995, the Jewish broadcaster
p.m. Wednesdays, 2 and 8 p.m. Thursdays,
launched This American Life on Chicago's
8 p.m. Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays
Public Radio. Today the radio program is
and 2 and 5 p.m. Sundays. $39.50; group
on more than 500 public radio stations
discounts and dinner, pre-show and post-
across the country, and Glass has been
show packages available. (313) 963-9800 or named best radio host in the country by
www.gemtheatre.com.
Time magazine.
Another perennial winner is Neil
This American Life, in which Glass and
Simon's Biloxi Blues, a classic fish-out-of-
company hit the road collecting true sto-
water play that tells the continuing story of ries from everyday folks, is now a televi-

,

sion show on Showtime as well. Whether
traveling to Iowa pig farms, following a
first-time filmmaker in California or pho-
tographing a raucous night at an Illinois
hot dog stand, the show's vignettes are dra-
matic, emotional and often funny. All six
episodes from the premiere season of the
Emmy-nominated TV show are now avail-
able for the first time on DVD.
Glass will sign and discuss topics from
the DVD 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at Borders
(the exclusive retailer of the DVD), 612 E.
Liberty, in Ann Arbor. (734) 668-7652.

Bodies Beautiful

Lawrence Street Gallery was founded in
1987 as an association of local artists.
Located at 22620 Woodward in downtown
Ferndale, the gallery, with the goal of rec-
ognizing and showcasing artistic talent
in Metro Detroit, features a series of one-
and two-person shows, group shows and
juried competitions that change monthly
and display a variety of fine art including
paintings, drawings, printmaking, jewelry,
ceramics, photography and sculpture.
Running through Feb. 29 is "The Body
Eclectic:' an annual juried competition
that has been one of the most popular at
the gallery. The theme of the exhibition is
the human figure in all its attitudes and

FYI: For Arts related events that you wish to have considered for Out & About, please send the item, with a detailed description of the event, times, dates, place, ticket prices and publishable phone number, to: Gail Zimmerman, JN Out &
About, The Jewish News, 29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 110, Southfield, MI 48034; fax us at (248) 304-8885; or e-mail to gzimmerman@thejewishnews.com . Notice must be received at least three weeks before the scheduled event.
Photos are appreciated but cannot be returned. All events and dates listed in the Out & About column are subject to change.

Jews

••-,

Lir

Nate Bloom
Special to the Jewish News

Grammy Time

The Grammy Awards for musical excel-
lence, will be presented 8 p.m. Sunday,
Feb.10, on CBS. I can
20 provide here only
a barebones list of
most of the Jewish
nominees. Please
check Grammys.
corn for specific
categories and song
or album titles.
The juiciest
Amy
story of the 2008
Winehouse
Grammys is one
with a Jewish angle – whether British
pop sensation Amy Winehouse will
appear at the ceremony. It is unlikely
given the fact she finally has gone
into rehab for out-of-control drug
abuse. Winehouse is nominated for
six major Grammy Awards, including
record ("Rehab"), album (Back to
Black) and song of the year ("Rehab")
as well as for best new artist.
Some sources say that her friend

C4

February 7 2008

and record producer, Mark Ronson,
convinced Winehouse to go into
rehab. She previously ignored an
open letter from her mother to get
help – a letter in which her mother
cited Amy's "strong Jewish heritage."
Ronson, who grew up in Britain
and America, is nominated for pro-
ducer of the year for records he did
with Winehouse and Brit singer Lily
Allen. He recently mentioned that he
and Winehouse want to make a holi-
day album with both Chanukah and
Christmas songs.
Other Jews nominated in the pop-
rock-folk categories include Barbra
Streisand, Bette Midler, Dave Koz,
David Bromberg, Cathy Fink, David
Bryan (the drummer for the band
Bon Jovi), Geddy Lee (the bassist for
the band Rush) and the Beastie Boys
(Adam Horovitz, Mike Diamond,
Adam Yauch).
In jazz, there's Josh Redman
and the late Michael Brecker, both
saxophone players. In country, Andy
Statman is nominated for best coun-
try instrumental song. Statman, who
plays clarinet and mandolin, is a

devout Orthodox Jew and is consid-
ered one of the best bluegrass and
klezmer musicians of all time.
Jorge Drexler, a native of Uruguay
who won the 2004 Oscar for best
song, is nominated for best Latin
pop album. Peter Himmelman,
another Orthodox Jew and the son-
in-law of Bob Dylan, is nominated for
best children's album.
Comedic actor Harry Shearer is
nominated for best comedy album,
while Nora Guthrie, the Jewish
daughter of the late folk music
legend Woody Guthrie, is up for a
Grammy for her liner notes for a CD
of her father's music.
Classical conductor Leonard
Slatkin, who will lead the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra starting this
fall, is nominated for two major
awards: classical album of the year
and orchestral performance of the
year (Joan Tower: Made in America,
with the Nashville Symphony).
Famous Russian Jewish violinist Yuri
Bashmet is nominated for best small
ensemble performance (conducting
his group, the Moscow Soloists).

Ken Erhrich, executive producer of
the Grammy Awards for 30 years run-
ning, offers his unique perspective on
the event he's produced for two gener-
ations in a new book, At the Grammys:
Behind the Scenes at Music's Biggest
Night (Hal Leonard Books; $29.95). It
will be released on Feb.10.

Small Screen Things

CNN chief national correspondent
John King, 43, is set to marry CNN
congressional correspondent Dana
Bash, 36, in May. King, who is of
Irish Catholic background, told the
New York Post: "I'm studying to con-
vert and will consider inviting you
to my bar mitzvah. Mazel tov. On a
more serious note, I took a class and
am working with a wonderful rabbi
in D.C., and it has been a remarkably
enriching experience."
Bash's father, Stuart Schwartz,
is the senior broadcast producer
for ABC News, where he primarily
works on Good Morning America.
(He's won a raft of awards, including
12 Emmys.) Dana's mother, Frances
Weinman Schwartz, is a Jewish