Arts & Entertainment

Puzzler Of A Play

In MBT's Mindgame, nothing is what it seems to be.

total of 10 are planned). The
has to do with the fine
line between fame and
last one, Crocodile Tears, was
released last year. The first
infamy," says Bass, 53,
in the series, Stormbreaker,
who calls upon his Jewish
background when per-
was made into a 2006 motion
forming with the Jewish
picture.
Ensemble Theatre (he'll
Horowitz's TV series include
Poirot, Murder in Mind,
be in the next produc-
Midsomer Murders and Foyle's
tion of JET's The Diary of
Anne Frank).
War. The latter, a World War II
detective drama, was shown in
"This issue draws
attention to the percep-
the United States.
tions of society and the
"Nothing matters but
the flow" when writing for
ways people can embrace
Loren Bass: " This is one
goodness and evil.
young people, Horowitz told
of the most ch allenging
Sometimes, whatever the
an interviewer from Author
roles I've done •'
magazine. Writing for adults,
majority says can make
something seem true
in contrast, involves distrac-
Horowitz — born to an upper class
tions having to do with character, such as
psychology and relationships.
Jewish family in 1956 in England, where
he is still based — has built a career in
Mindgame, Horowitz's only play,
books, films, television and theater.
debuted in England in 2000 and Off
When he writes for young readers, his
Broadway in 2008.
standout hero is Alex Rider, a 14-year-old
"I think people may want to see
Mindgame twice," says Bass, who this sea-
spying for England, who already has been
featured in a series spanning eight novels (a
son appeared in Meadow Brook produc-

SUZANNE CHESSLER

Special to the Jewish News

L

oren Bass, who plays mystery
writer Mark Styler in the Meadow
Brook Theatre production of
Mindgame, wants to keep much of the play
a mystery from prospective audiences.
"This is a very unique play," Bass says
about the production running through
March 7 on the campus of Oakland
University in Rochester."It's billed as a mys-
tery-thriller, and the setup is that I've come
to an insane asylum to interview a serial kill-
er, but things don't work out as I had hoped.
"My journey is discovering all the things
that seem to be a little out of place there,
and the audience actually has some fun
trying to figure out what's really going on."
Terry Carpenter, associate director at
Meadow Brook, helms this production of
Mindgame, written by Britain's Anthony
Horowitz. Also in the cast are Mark
Rademacher as Dr. Alex Farquhar and
Inga Wilson as Nurse Plimpton.
"There's a broad theme in the play that

ews

f 11111M'

Nate Bloom

Jones (Parks and

Special to the Jewish News

Recreation), 33; and
Susie Essman (Curb
Your Enthusiasm), 54.

Buddy Flick

Cop Out, scheduled to open Friday, Feb.
26, stars Tracy Morgan (30 Rock) and
Bruce Willis as NYPD detectives who've
been partners for a long time. The Willis
character is trying to get back a valu-
able baseball card stolen from him by a
memorabilia-obsessed gangster.
There are many comic moments
amidst the usual cop-buddy movie
mayhem. Jewish actors in support-
ing roles include Adam Brody (The
0.C.), 30; Kevin Pollak, 52; Michelle
Tractenberg (TV's Mercy), 24; Rashida

Musical Notes

Singer John Mayer, 32,
has repeatedly apolo-
gized for what many
took as a racist comment he made in a
recent, very candid Playboy interview
(posted, in full, on Playboy.com ).
Much less noticed was the fact that
Mayer, for the first time, spoke to a
reporter about his Jewish background.
He said: "I'm half Jewish. People
say, 'Well, which side of your fam-

ily is Jewish?' I say,
'My dad's.' And they
always say it doesn't
count. But I will say
I keep my pool at 92
degrees, so you do
the math. I find myself
relating to Judaism.
John Mayer
One of my best
friends is Jewish beyond all Jews – I
went to my first Passover seder at his
house – and I train in Krav Maga with
a lot of Israelis."
If you watched the 2010 Winter
Olympics opening ceremony, you
might have been struck by the some-
what rocking version of the Canadian

tions of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and
A Christmas Carol.
"Once they find out everything, they
may well be interested in going back to
see what happened in the beginning, what
everything meant along the way and how
it all contributed to the end of the story.
"This is one of the most challenging
roles I've done, and the play stretches the
engagement of the audience. People seem
to share the experience on a level deeper
than just pure entertainment, and I love to
talk about this play with audiences after
they have seen it." ❑

Mindgame runs through March 7 at
the Meadow Brook Theatre, located
on the campus of Oakland University
in Rochester. Performances are at
8 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays; 6 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 27; 2 and 6: 30 p.m.
Sundays; 2 and 8 p.m. Wednesday,
March 3; and 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday,
March 6. $24-$39. (248) 377-3300;
www.mbtheatre.com .

national anthem, "0 Canada," by jazz/
pop singer Nikki Yanofksy, 16.
The Montreal native is a genuine
phenom who has been
wowing audiences
since age 12. She has
headlined the Montreal
Jazz Festival every
year since 2006 and
has worked with a
"who's who" of top
Nikki Yanofsky musical performers.
Her first studio album comes out in
spring, and she will tour internation-
ally after its release. Yanofsky has
done benefits for ORT and for a charity
assisting disabled Israeli soldiers.

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