arts & entertainment
For Cinephiles
The DFT's fall season includes
films with Jewish content.
Suzanne Chessler
F
Contributing Writer
films new and old will be joined
by a cinema series detailing
movie history as the Detroit Film
Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts
enters its fall season and includes movies
with Jewish content.
The Story of Film: An Odyssey, with
guidance by Irish critic Mark Cousins,
takes viewers on an epic journey through
the history of productions from around
the world; and iconic Jewish Hollywood
producers, such as Louis B. Mayer, and
directors, like Stanley Donen, become
part of the story.
The 15-hour series, presented over
seven Saturday afternoons, begins with
the invention of motion pictures at the
end of the 19th century and concludes
with the digital industry offering new
effects in the 21st.
"This series originally was designed
to be seen on British television," Elliot
Wilhelm, Detroit Institute of Arts film
curator and DFT founder, explains of the
series scheduled for Sept. 29-Nov. 24. "It's
not dry and academic. It's filled with lots
of opportunities
for discovering
works.
"There's the joy
of experiencing
movies we've seen
Alain Cohen and Michel Simon in a scene from The Two of Us, screening 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22.
before in a new
light in addition
to discovering films from distant parts of lution, and David Drazin (profiled in the
by Avi Nesher, is a coming-of-age story
the globe. I believe, at the end, audiences
March 15, 2012, issue of the Jewish News) set in Haifa and will be screened Oct.
will be left hungry for more. I haven't
will return to provide the piano accom-
19-28.
seen the entire series, but based on what
paniment."
Love, loss and survival become the
I have seen, I'm sure I'll be enjoying the
The Two of Us, a 1967 French film
focus as a teenage boy works for a
rest, too."
by French Jewish director-screenwriter
matchmaker. The office is at the back of
Wilhelm explains that the series
Claude Berri, is based on the early expe-
a movie theater showing only romantic
compares to other programming at the
riences of the director and will be shown
cinema, and that becomes part of the
DFT, where historical and contemporary
at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22.
plot.
works from near and far give a range
The film captures the relationship of a
"Through the viewing of the Mark
of viewing opportunities to audiences.
Jewish boy named Claude (Main Cohen)
Cousins series and our other films, we
Another series this year, "Twilight of
hidden during the Nazi occupation in a
want to celebrate creative achievement,"
the Tsars," will be shown Thursday eve-
French Catholic home, where the grand-
Wilhelm says. "We also want to explore
nings, beginning Oct. 11, to complement
father (Michel Simon) is anti-Semitic and the impact of film on global culture!'
"Faberge: The Rise and Far an exhibit
not told of the boy's religion.
at the Detroit Institute of Arts, in which
"The child is terrified so there is a lot
Imperial Russian treasures made by the
of tension," explains Wilhelm, who is
House of Faberge will be on display.
Jewish. "As the film advances, there also
The fall season of the Detroit
"The Russian films were made between is beauty as the two bond. It's been a hit
Film Theatre runs through Dec. 2.
1910 and 1919," Wilhelm says. "They are
on the art-film circuit:'
$5-$7.50. Tickets and schedule:
portraits of poor people who want a revo-
The Matchmaker, a recent Israeli film
(313) 833-4005; www.dia.org/dft.
Danny-Of-All-Trades
Performer is both understudy and
ensemble player in La Cage aux Folles.
Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer
D
anny Vaccaro's last visit
to Michigan was for a
traditional wedding.
He was a guest at the nuptials of
his college friend Carey Crim,
daughter of local broadcaster
Mort Crim.
Vaccaro's next visit also will
involve a marriage celebration,
Danny
but in this case, it's all nontradi-
Vaccaro
tional and without any sense of
his being a guest.
Vaccaro will be appearing in La Cage
Aux Folles, the musical about the meeting
of prospective fathers-in-law, one gay and
the other anti-gay. Besides performing
in the ensemble, Vaccaro understudies
62
September 20 = 2012
iN
the gay father's romantic partner, played
by Christopher Sieber, and the straight
father.
The touring show, with songs
by Jerry Herman and script by
Harvey Fierstein, runs Sept. 25
–Oct. 7 at the Fisher Theatre in
Detroit. It stars George Hamilton
as the gay dad-in-law to be.
"I love the story, and I think it's
very timely," says Vaccaro, 41, in a
phone conversation from the road.
"It's about what families mean and
what inclusion means.
"This story has had many incarnations,
including the original play, the French
movie and the American movie titled The
Bird Cage. I think the American musical
version is the best way to tell this story.
Am What I Am' is the song at the
heart of the show and is performed at the
end of Act I. It hits me every time I hear
or sing it:'
Vaccaro, who has appeared regularly in
regional theaters as well as tours, counts
Michigan as the 47th state in which he
has worked.
"I knew when I was 7 years old, cast in
a Catskills camp play [of The Wizard of
Oz], what I was going to do:' he recalls.
"My parents were supportive, and I got
to take all kinds of lessons. I went to
Northwestern University to study drama,
and I never looked back:'
Vaccaro, who started out as a dancer,
came to tour with Mickey Rooney in a
professional production of The Wizard
of Oz, which stopped at Detroit's Fox
Theater. His Jewish-content productions
have included The Diary of Anne Frank
and Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie.
"My mom and stepdad are both Jewish,
definitely more culturally Jewish than
religiously Jewish," says Vaccaro, a single
New Yorker. "We're proud of our heritage.
"The only grandmother I knew came
over from Russia in 1929, when she was
a kid, and her history is a big part of my
family as we have seders and celebrate
Chanukah."
Vaccaro notes that La Cage Aux Folles
has had three incarnations in musical for-
mat and won Tony recognition each time.
"I've found that George Hamilton
shows all the charm that has made his
career, and he brings it to the role says
Vaccaro, a loyal baseball fan who enjoys
going to games as he travels the country.
"Christopher is a powerhouse:'
Taking on diverse roles — whether as
an understudy of opposites or in differ-
ent segments of the ensemble — Vaccaro
finds no conflict.
"I trained to do everything," he says.
"Now I can carry some of that out in one
play." E
La Cage Aux Folles runs 8 p.m.
Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m.
Saturdays-Sundays and 7:30
p.m. Sundays, Sept. 25-Oct. 7,
at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit.
$40-$80. (313) 872-1000; www.
broadwayindetroit.com .