M etro
AROUND TOWN
Leading Lady from page A21
Behind The Scenes
With Evelyn Orbach
When she's not reviewing scripts, overseeing directors, actors, set, lighting and
costume designers or juggling the many other "behind the scenes" jobs being
JET'S founding artistic director entails, Orbach is busy in the role of mother
to her adult children, Richard, Sharon, Judy and Lila, and grandmother to 10
grandchildren. Here, she gives us more insight into her two decades at the JET.
Q: What inspired you to start the JET?
Irving and Barbara Nusbaum, right, of Franklin with Rosalind Fink of Northville
A: I had been in New York and there were two wonderful theaters, the American
Jewish Theatre and the Jewish Repertory Theatre and they were doing won-
derful work. I thought, we've never had anything like that here in Michigan;
fine professional theater where the material could speak to and for and from
the Jewish community. The more I thought about it, the more I thought about
who I am as a Jew. I'm very interested in the fact that Jews have people like
the Prophets who talk about the
issues in our society and explore
them and hopefully have some
impact so people do something
about those issues. And I wanted
to be part of such a thing.
"I've always wanted to
offer not only shows in the
schools, but I'd also like to
have a children's theater
where kids can come every
weekend or during the
week and act in plays of
Jewish value." - Evelyn Orbach
Melba Winer of West Bloomfield and Bluma Siegal of Farmington Hills
grants and donations. Major contributors
include MASCO Corporation, Chrysler,
Kresge and the Dorfman and Grand
family funds. The Michigan Council for
the Arts and Cultural Affairs designated
JET an anchor organization based on its
impact beyond its target audience. It joins
in that designation just two other Oakland
County jewels: Cranbrook and the Detroit
Zoo. But, the theater has still had to
endure hefty state budget cuts.
"This was the first summer in four
years that we didn't temporarily lay every-
one off to save money:' Orbach said. "We're
currently getting about $16,000 from the
state; about a 30-percent funding cut."
Then, there's Michigan's struggling
economy. Orbach is waiting anxiously to
see what kind of impact it will have on
box office sales.
"We have no idea what's going to hap-
pen this year:' she said. "Audiences are not
as predictable because families are hurt-
ing. Some have lost jobs, some are facing
A22
September 25 • 2008
314
foreclosures!'
Still, JET has rolled out a 20th anni-
versary season featuring something for
everyone including Neil Simon's autobio-
graphical play Chapter Two which wraps
up in a few days, followed by the mystery,
Sleuth (Oct. 28-Nov. 23); the musical
comedy, Two by Two (Dec. 9-Jan. 4, 2009);
Collected Stories (Feb. 17-Mar. 15, 2009);
and Halpern and Johnson (Apr. 21-May. 17,
2009).
"The season includes shows that will
thrill, invite a smile, a chuckle or even
some hearty laughs:' Orbach says. "We're
going to have a wonderful time celebrating
our 20th birthday. We might just have our
cake and eat it too!" ❑
-
For more information about JET
productions, ticket prices and per-
formance schedules, call (248) 788-
2900 or go to www.jettheatre.org .
Q: What are some of JET's
proudest moments?
A: Plays that have had an enor-
mous impact like our production
of Romeo and Juliet with Arabs
and Jews which we started
producing one week after the
9-11 attacks in 2001. It was a
shocking time, and it was an
enormous production and very
gratifying. That same year, we
did The Laramie Project [about
how the people of Laramie, Wyo., deal with the hate-crime killing of a young
gay man in their town.] Those two shows just became an outstanding landmark
for me and for the theater. Of course, we also have our annual traveling pro-
duction of The Diary of Anne Frank which has been seen by more than 50,000
students, including those in non-Jewish communities who may not be familiar
the Holocaust.
Q: What has been your biggest challenge?
A: Funding is always a challenge, but I think if you have something you're pas-
sionate about and you know it can work and you believe in it and you're rational
about it at the same time, people will support it because they believe in you.
This is a challenging year because of the economy. Our budget keeps rising and
things like sending our companies out to all the schools will cost much more
because of the high gasoline prices. But, we're lucky to have secured grants
from sponsors like MASCO Corporation, which gave us an extra $10,000 this
year just because it's our 20th anniversary. We're thankful to all of our patrons
and donors who've helped make the last two decades such a success.
Q: 20 years is a tough act to follow, what's next for JET?
A: I've always wanted to offer not only shows in the schools, but I'd also like
to have a children's theater where kids can come every weekend or during the
week and act in plays of Jewish value. We'd do a full production so they can get
all the benefits of theatrical art that really ignites the imagination. I want to
have children thinking about things that have some worth. I don't have enough
money this year to start a whole new production but I'm going to do it one day.
I have more dreams - I'm not finished yet!