Or The Big Stage

FJA's "twisted" Midsummer's Night
Dream plays the Berman.

FJA cast members: (top row) juniors Justin Xetman and Jacob Brown,

seniors Jessica Grossman and Jacob Korman; (bottom row) juniors Michelle

Shumunov and Annie Jacobson.

Gideon Levinson and
Michelle Shumunov
Teen2Teen Staff Writers

F

rankel Jewish Academy stu-
dents will make theater history
in more ways than one at the
April 6-7 performances of the school's
spring musical, A Midsummer Night's
Dream, With a Twist. In addition to plot
innovations that incorporate modern
dance and music, the performance will
be FM's first in the newly constructed
Berman Center of the Performing Arts
at the Jewish Community Center in
West Bloomfield.
About 400 years ago, William
Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer
Night's Dream, a romantic comedy of
errors, intertwining three stories of love,
jealousy and humor. To us non-Shake-
speareans, the play is often difficult to
understand and sometimes uninter-
esting, even when performed (sorry,
Shakespeare).
The show's "twist" is the incorpora-
tion of music by Billy Joel, the Beatles,
Neil Young and Van Morrison, per-
formed by instrumental music director
Amy Sauve and FJA students Jonathon
Pachter and Laura Goldman. A multi-
tude of dance styles — ballet, hip-hop,
lyrical and jazz — weave through the
play, cleverly choreographed by FJA
English teacher Kelly Beck. Together,
popular songs and exciting dance lend
an attention-grabbing twist to the show,
making the story easy to understand,
all the while maintaining Shakespeare's
plot and artistry.
To remind the audience of the bard's
creative subtext and use of symbolism,

Mitch Master, FJNs director of perform-
ing and visual arts, has added two
informative Cliffiiote characters, played
by Gideon Levinson and Carly Simko.
"The Cliffuotes help explain the
meaning of the characters' names and
highlight the important themes',' says
Simko, "and I am very excited to take on
this role?'
Other cast members include Annie
Jacobson (Helena), Michelle Shumunov
(Hermia), Justin Kelman (Lysander),
Jacob Brown (Oberon), Ami Nadiv
(Puck) and Ethan Grier (Bottom), just
to name a few.
But the main source of the cast's
excitement is that the show is the
school's first performance in the
Berman Center. Previous productions
took place in the JCC's Handelman Hall.
"We are thrilled to be able to per-
form [there]:' says student stage man-
ager Shira Wolf. "It enables the cast to
experience the art of performing on a
professional stage, and gives the crew
knowledge of more advanced technical
equipment."
The new theater includes more than
600 seats, a beautiful and enormous
stage, dressing rooms and technol-
ogy never before available to FJA
students. Seniors in the show, Jake
Korman (Demetrius), Moshe Alishayev
(Starveling) and Jess Grossman (Titania),
are eager to put on their final show in
such a wonderful theater. The new stage
and features will carry on. Call (248)
592-5263 for ticket information. I I

Gideon Levinson and Michelle Shumunov

Graduation Time!

leJE WISHNEWS.cor
The Jewish News
n
JM Cap & Gown
will honor all Jewish
Cap Gown
students who are
YEARBOOK
graduating this spring
from Michigan high
schools in our new
Cap & Gown Yearbook
2011. The Yearbook
will be published in
our May 19 issue.
For free, we will
include a photo
and up to 35 words
listing the student's name, school and
accomplishments. We also encourage families
to honor their students, out-of-state or college
graduates with a congratulatory ad.

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To place a listing or an ad in
Cap & Gown, go to
www.thejewishnews.comkapgown

at both Juniors at the Frankel Jewish

Academy in West Bloomfield.

31 2011

59