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Actress With Dual Roots
The Color Purple, currently at the Fox Theatre, is
a play about transcending pain and the chance to
redeem oneself. Focusing on the main character's
troubles with abuse, the drama portrays the univer-
sal struggle to affirm oneself as a capable human
being. Interestingly, actress Stephanie St. James, who
portrays the appropriately named "Squeak:' is famil-
Stephanie St.
iar with the fight to survive in the face of adversity
James
— her grandmother is a Holocaust survivor.
St. James' story epitomizes the increasingly multicultural social
landscape in America. Her grandmother was one of two Jews who
survived a German raid on her Polish town during the Holocaust. Her
grandmother fled to Russia, where she gave birth to a daughter who
ended up on a kibbutz in Israel.
There, St. James' mother met the man she would marry, a student
from Guyana attending an Israeli university. They moved to the
United States, where Stephanie was born.
Growing up in a culturally diverse household where Hebrew,
Russian and Polish were spoken has influenced St. James' worldview,
which she describes as "different" and "open!'
Although The Color Purple focuses mostly on difficulties within
the black community, St. James describes the play as a "story that has
no color lines nor religious lines ... [it is about] humanity facing all
types of adversities in life!'
Judaism also played a role in St. James' upbringing. Her brother had
a bar mitzvah, but she refused to have a bat mitzvah, a decision she
now wishes had been different. St. James, who sees her grandmother
as her hero, says she "absolutely" identifies as a Jew.
Now traveling with The Color Purple's first national tour, St. James
divides her time between acting, recording music and writing a book
about her grandmother, which she hopes one day will be turned into
a screenplay. The book will show what one survivor — a little girl
whose family and townspeople were murdered — can create: a beau-
tiful family and a talented actress.
The Color Purple plays at Detroit's Fox Theatre through June 1.
- David Lehmann, special writer
Microsoft's Bailmer Praises Israel
Microsoft CEO Steve Bailmer, a former Detroiter, arrived in Israel last
week for a three-hour visit to inaugurate Microsoft's new research and
development center in Herzliya. President Shimon Peres and lead-
ing high-tech representatives
attended the ceremony.
"Microsoft is as much
an Israeli company as an
American company:' Ballmer
said, adding that the propor-
tion of Microsoft employees
per capita in Israel was similar
to that in the United States.
Microsoft CEO Steve Bailmer is
Over the past two years,
flanked by Microsoft Israel CEO
Microsoft bought five com-
Danny Yamin and Moshe Lichtman, panies in Israel, adding to its
Microsoft Israel head of research
two research and development
and development.
centers in Haifa, which employ
a total of 600 people.
The new campus in Herzliya has two large buildings. Over the next
year, Microsoft plans to add another 150 employees, bringing its total
number of research and development staff in Israel to 750.
Bailmer praised the Internet technology sector in Israel for being
very advanced, and said Tel Aviv, as the birthplace of many start-ups,
was a type of Silicon Valley. "I know very few places around the world
that offer such a variety of start-up opportunities, and we intend to
continue to invest in Israel," he said.
- Sharon Wrobel/Jerusalem Post
A8 May 29 • 2008
JN
'Rosen By Any Other Name'
The Southfield-based Yeshivat Akiva Senior Class of 2008 will present
A Rosen By Any Other Name, a play by Israel Horovitz that shows a
name can stand for a legacy, a family and a faith.
About to become a man, Stanley Rosen must find his voice amidst
the noise of his mother's hectic preparations for an overly ornate bar
mitzvah and of his loud, paranoid father, who fears that the Holocaust
is approaching their hometown of Sault St. Marie, Canada.
The community is welcome to come June 3 to witness the bit-
tersweet process of growing up and finding pride in one's heritage
despite chaos in the world. The 7:30 p.m. performance is preceded by
a 6:30 p.m. dinner at an additional cost. Play tickets are $5. For reser-
vations, call Aliza Storchan (248) 752-1140 or e-mail Lizzi Goldmeier
at esg1990@aol.com .
Interfaith Panel Discussion
The Birmingham Temple in Farmington Hills and WISDOM
(Women's Interfaith Solutions for Dialogue and Outreach in Metro
Detroit) will present an inter-denominational panel discussion Friday,
June 6, entitled "5 Women, 5 Journeys: How Different Are We?"
A panel of women from different religious traditions — Muslim,
Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Bahl — will reflect on the changing
roles and expectations of women and discuss their own personal
journeys.
An optional vegetarian potluck supper will be served at 6 p.m.,
with Shabbat services at 8 p.m., followed by the panel discussion. The
program is for men and women. Respond to Judith Goren, (248) 644-
7149, and sign up for a dish to pass.
- David Lehmann, special writer
ECO , t=. Judaism
Conservation Tips
What you can do to stop global warming – Michigan Coalition
on the Environment & Jewish Life.
Spring and Summer ...
• For larger gardens, consider drip irrigation or gray water systems.
• Limit use of power mowers.
• Refuel power equipment in cooler weather or during the
cooler part of the day.
• Grass roots grow to the same depth as the height of the
grass blades. For a healthier, weed-free lawn, maintain at least
a 3-inch blade height. This shades the grass, preventing weed
growth.
• Once cut, leave grass clippings on lawn for nutrients. Or add
lawn clippings to compost.
• Plant trees to absorb CO2 and to provide shade.
• Plant fruit trees and organic gardens.
Jewish Thought on the Environment
"No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of
the field had yet sprung up; for the LORD God had not caused
it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the
ground; but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered
the whole face of the ground."
– Genesis 2:5-6
Contact MI- COEJL for a variety of resources and presenta-
tions on being guardians of Creation: (248) 642-5393, ext. 7;
mi-coel@jfmd.org ; www.mi-coejl.org .
Source: Michigan Coalition on the Environment S Jewish Life
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