i
,141, 1. 4
I Arts & Entertainment
ON THE COVER
Chai-Lighting from page B11
18 Years & Going Strong
Elizabeth Applebaum
Special to the Jewish News
j
Terri Stearn and Hillary Fisher in the gallery office, "a bit of fun chaos."
him for a holiday dinner — at the home
of her in-laws.
Usually, though, it's up to Steam and
Fisher to curate, which they like to do after
tossing off their shoes and considering
everything with an artist's eye for order
(items on a similar theme might be placed
together) and beauty.
Janice's longtime friend Silvio Benvenuti
helps, as does volunteer Marilyn McCall.
Natalie and Manny Charach and the gallery's
entire steering committee often assist at
openings. The result is that any gallery proj-
ect is always a collective effort from a color-
ful and diverse group of men and women.
Because the gallery operates on a
generous endowment from the Charach
family and with patron donations, mak-
ing money is not a necessity — though
the gallery does make money. Thanks to
a small gift shop, the sale of artwork and
occasional silent auctions, the gallery is
now earning more money- in one year than
it did in a decade not long ago. Profits are
used for gallery programming.
As one exhibit — on Israeli posters
from 1930-1960 — draws to a close, and
"Chai-Lighting 18 Years" opens, Terri and
Hillary often are on the phone, getting
organized and meeting with artists. The
office is a bit of fun chaos; and work con-
tinues late into the evening until the dark
embraces the edge of the sky, then creeps
closer, slowly, gently.
Sometimes on these late nights, visitors
and staff report hearing "a pat-pat-pat" in
the gallery, as though someone is walking
in flip-flops.
Janice often wore flip-flops.
So perhaps, some suggest, Janice has
come back to see the art she helped bring
to life. She stays for a while, strolling up
and down the quiet aisles, seeing the
whimsical paintings and the fine-line
drawings and the sculptures.
And then she is gone.
❑
Elizabeth Applebaum is a marketing
specialist at the Jewish Community
Center of Metropolitan Detroit.
The Janice Charach Gallery is locat-
ed in the Jewish Community Center
of Metropolitan Detroit, 6600 W.
Maple Road, in West Bloomfield. It
is open from noon-4 p.m. Sundays,
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays
and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursdays. For
information: www.jccdet.org or call
(248) 432-5579.
anice Charach's dream to
help young artists exhibit
their work came true when
her parents, Natalie and Manny,
established a gallery in her mem-
ory.
The Janice Charach Gallery's
upcoming exhibit, "Chai-Lighting 18
Years," will feature works by many
such artists and celebrate the
gallery's 18th year.
The exhibit opens 2 p.m. Sunday,
Dec. 7, with many of the featured
artists attending, and runs through
Sunday, Jan. 25. Additionally, at 2
p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, a number of
the artists will be on hand to give
demonstrations and speak about
their work.
More than 40 artists are par-
ticipating in the event, including
Eileen Aboulafia, Robert Schefman,
Linda Soberman, Katrina Ruby, Jay
Lefkowitz, Albert Young, Monty
Nagler, Terry Lee Dills, Jo Strausz
Rosen, and Janice's brother,
Jeffrey.
Edie Simons of Bloomfield Hills
will have a number of pieces on
exhibit.
"Because I am a full-time work-
ing woman - and not a full-time
artist - this is a wonderful oppor-
tunity for me to be able to show
at the gallery," Simons says. "I
have a special style that seems to
be appreciated within the Detroit
Jewish community, so what better
place to show my work?" ❑
Edie Simons will exhibit paintings
(like the one shown) in "Chai-
Lighting 18 Years."
On Stage from page B15
Broadway production about New York-
area newlyweds and their ex-es, who don't
approve of the unions. The music is by
composer Henry Krieger (Dreamgirls),
presently working on a musical score for a
show based on the 1984 film The Flamingo
Kid. Through Dec. 14.
At the City Center, Stage I, 131 West 55th
St. (212) 581-1212.
Streamers
Tensions rise in this dramatic revival as
four soldiers just out of boot camp in 1965
Virginia await deployment to Vietnam.
Cast members include Hale Appleman.
B16
November 27 • 2008
Streamers was written by David Rabe and
first premiered in 1976. Through Jan. 11.
At the Laura Pels Theater, 111 West 46th
St. (212) 719-1300.
with English and Russian supertitles.
Through Dec. 28.
At the ICC in Manhattan, 334
Amsterdam Ave. (800) 595-4849.
Gimpel Tam
Presented by the National Yiddish Theatre-
Folksbiene, Gimpel Tam is a new Yiddish
musical based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's
story about a gullible, unlucky man beset
by misfortune as a result of believing the
bizarre lies told him by the townspeople in
his shtetl. When given the chance to revenge
those who have exploited him, he refuses
because of his faith. Performed in Yiddish
Mountain Jews
Presented by the Jewish Theater of New
York, this "play with music" tells the story
of Isaac, a Jewish Orthodox man from
Brooklyn who travels with his new bride
to Israel to consummate their marriage
below the "Gate of Paradise" located,
he is certain, on a sacred mountain in
Hebron. When Isaac encounters problems
and sees a man calling himself Prophet
Muhammad demanding the bride for
himself, Isaac prays that the Holy Land
will come to his help.
At the Triad Theater, 158 W 72nd St.
(212) 352-3101.
Sessions
In writer-composer-lyricist Albert
Tapper's new musical, a psychiatrist and
his patients reverse roles so they can help
him through some of his own difficulties.
Through Dec. 31.
At the Algonquin Theater; 123 E. 24th St.
(212) 868-4444.
❑