arts & entertainment
Brother Act
Farmers Alley Theatre co-founders Adam and Rob Weiner
enjoy their careers onstage and behind the curtain.
Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer
ated as "Farmers Aly:' I liked the idea of
using the word 'Alley' because there are a lot
of famous theaters around the country that
ots of people have watched Whitney have Alley' in their names!'
Weiner's romantic shenanigans
The founders have developed diverse sea-
with her husband's brother, but
sons — dramas and musicals, classics and
everybody's more than OK with it.
new works.
In fact, sightings of different associa-
Upcoming
tions among Weiner family members are
shows include The
expected: The relatives regularly perform in Spitfire Grill (Oct.
productions of Kalamazoo's Farmers Alley
5-21),My Way: A
Theatre, founded by Adam and Robert
Musical Tribute to
(Rob) Weiner.
Frank Sinatra (Nov.
Adam, Whitney's brother-in-law, is
30-Dec. 23), The
executive director of the company, and Rob, Whipping Man (Feb.
Whitney's husband, is deputy director.
8-24), The 39 Steps
In an earlier season, Whitney and brother- (April 12-28), Next
Adam Weiner
in-law Adam took the roles of wife and
to Normal (June
husband in The Great American Trailer Park
7-23) and Life Could Be a Dream (July
Musical. Whitney and hubby Rob are appear- 19-Aug.11).
ing through Aug. 12 in the romantic comedy
The idea for the professional stage com-
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change.
pany came about as both brothers were
The professional theater, launched in 2007, establishing themselves in Kalamazoo after
also includes collaborations with fellow
theater studies.
founders Jeremy Koch, artistic director, and
Adam, who earned a bachelor's degree
Denene Mulay Koch, educational director.
in film from the University of Michigan,
For the founders, their vantage points
went on to earn a master's degree in
from the stage and behind the scenes have
arts management from Carnegie Mellon
been particularly fulfilling. They've watched University in Pittsburgh and interned at the
attendance grow to almost full capacity as
Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.
they are planning to enter their fifth season. Robert holds a bachelor's degree from U-M
"Broadway may have Shubert Alley, but
in theater performance.
Kalamazoo has Farmers Alley:' says Adam
While Adam worked in his dad's business
Weiner, 34, a lifelong theater fan encour-
and Robert held various jobs around the
aged by his mother, Laurel Scheidt, a high
city, they participated with local troupes.
school drama teacher serving on an artistic
"Rob and I were doing a production of
advisory council for the stage company, and Ragtime at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre
dad, Joshua Weiner, a real estate developer
Adam recalls about the early beginnings of
serving as board chairman of the stage
Farmers Alley. "One night after rehearsal,
company.
Rob approached the Koches (with New York
"Farmers Alley is located on a downtown theater experience) and asked if they would
street with the same name, often abbrevi-
be interested in starting a theater with us.
L
"As soon as they agreed, we were in a
whirlwind for six months, writing a busi-
ness plan, getting financial support, putting
together a board of directors and applying
for nonprofit status. We found a space that
could hold 100 seats and leased it.
"By the fall of
2008, we opened
with a production
of A Few Good Men,
cast with Rob and
me, and have been in
business ever since."
While the admin-
istrative team antici-
pated 60 percent
house capacity for
Rob Weiner
the first season, they
ended up with 81 percent. The fourth sea-
son brought 90 percent capacity.
"This theater has given me a purpose
says Robert, 31."My father has very strong
business connections in the area, but that
was something I never was interested in.
I was more creative, and this has been so
fulfilling. Our space allows us to treat the-
atergoers like family."
Judaism, with a presence in Farmers
Alley productions, has been important
in the Weiner family as the brothers were
raised and later as they went off on their
own. Both were schooled and had bar
mitzvah celebrations at the Congregation
of Moses, an egalitarian Conservative syna-
gogue with a presence in Kalamazoo for
more than 100 years, and both were mar-
ried with Temple Israel clergy.
Adam married Allison Green (a research-
er at Western Michigan University) at the
temple in West Bloomfield, and Rob mar-
ried Whitney Wade (a high school choir
director) at the theater with Rabbi Paul,
Yedwab officiating.
"We built a chuppah at the theater and
did the lighting as we would in a stage
production:' Rob recalls. "It was fun to see
family and friends in our theater space for
the wedding."
Among the plays with Jewish themes
have been the musical Parade and Driving
Miss Daisy, both about anti-Semitism in the
South. The Whipping Man, about a seder
held just as the Civil War ends, has been
staged at the Jewish Ensemble Theatre in
West Bloomfield.
"We want to present plays that will
challenge us as an organization as well as
challenge and entertain audiences:' Adam
says. "We want a good mix, something for
everyone.
"Because we have an intimate space, we
like to take musicals and works originally
done on huge stages and breathe new life
into them for the size of our stage. We
schedule works that ordinarily wouldn't
come to Kalamazoo but that we can pro-
duce because of our small space."
The brothers agree they want all their
productions to be top-notch.
"Ifs been professionally and personally
fulfilling to see the community embrace
our theater:' Rob says. "Now, to be in the
same production with my wife puts me
over the moon."
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now
Change runs through Aug.12 at
Farmers Alley Theatre, 221 Farmers
Alley, Kalamazoo, a 2-2 1 /2 hour drive
from Detroit. Performances are at
8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays and 2 p.m.
Sundays. $27-$29. (269) 343-2727;
www.farmersalleytheatre.com .
ws
141rg.-
010:
I Nate Bloom
Special to the Jewish News
Notable Olympians
Here is my list of some "verified"
Jewish athletes competing at the
London Games, other than Israel's
37-member squad. Results are
included if event occurred before we
went to press.
United States:
David Banks, 28, rowing Men's
Eight (July 28-Aug.1). A Stanford
graduate, he's the son of an African-
American father and a Jewish
mother.
Anthony Ervin, 31, swimming, 50M
52
August 2 • 2012
freestyle (Aug. 2-3).
The son of an African-
American father and
a Jewish mother, in
2000 he was the first
African-American to
win an Olympic swim-
ming medal (a gold
Ervin
in the 50M individual
and a silver in the
4x100M freestyle medley); he retired
in 2003 but came back this year after
earning his college degree.
Jason Lezak, 36, swimming,
4x100M freestyle relay heat team
(July 29, silver medal). Lezak, in his
fourth Olympics, has now won eight
medals, including four gold.
Mark Mendelbratt, 39, sailing
(July 29-Aug. 5). In 2004, he finished
eighth sailing a Laser; he's back sail-
ing a two-man Star.
Merrill Moses, 34, water polo (July
29-Aug. 6). He was the goalkeeper
on the 2008 U.S.
Olympic team that
won the silver medal.
Alexandra (Aly)
Raisman, 17, gym-
nastics (team, July
31; all-around, Aug.
2; floor, beam, Aug.
7). On the cover of
Raisman
a recent issue of
Sports Illustrated,
Raisman, who was a bat mitzvah, has
performed solo floor exercises to the
music of "Hava Nagila."
Soren Thompson, 31, fencing, indi-
vidual epee (Aug. 1). He was on the
2004 American team, taking seventh
place in individual competition and
fifth place in team competition.
Julie Zetlin, 21, rhythmic gym-
nastics (Aug. 9-11). She is the sole
member on Team USA; in the last
Olympics, no Americans competed in
this sport.
Jewish competitors from other
countries include: Australia: Steve
Solomon, 19, track; Germany: Sarah
Poewe, 29, swimming; New Zealand:
Jo Aleh, 28, sailing; Ukraine: Vasyl
Fedoryshyn, 32, wrestling.