arts & entertainment
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JET stages play about the often-forgotten woman who
made major contributions to the understanding of DNA.
I
Suzanne Chessler
ing graduate students, Keith Kalinowski
(Raymond Gosling) and Russell Schwartz
(Don Caspar).
arol Lempert has introduced
"We're reclaiming a lost Jewish woman's
many audiences to writer-humor- story, and I think it's important to know
ist Dorothy Parker, but the actress about a Jewish woman who blazed a trail,"
is taking a working break
says Lempert, taking it
from that celebrity role
upon herself to pursue
she scripted.
considerable research in
Next on her agenda will
preparing for her role.
be a portrayal just as real
"In the play, the men
— only more serious.
are telling the story, and
Lempert, a Michigan
my character has scenes
native who recently
with each of them. They
returned to the Jewish
call attention to very dif-
Ensemble Theatre in
ferent memories of the
That Dorothy Parker, will
events:"
return as Dr. Rosalind
Franklin, a British
Franklin in Anna
scientist working in the
/)
Ziegler's Photograph 51.
1950s, was the subject of
Rosalind
Franklin,
pictured, died Brenda Maddox's 2002
The play, running Jan.
of ovarian cancer at age 37.
23-Feb. 10 at the Jewish
book, Rosalind Franklin:
Community Center in
The Dark Lady of DNA.
West Bloomfield, spotlights personali-
"I'd like people to remember Rosalind
ties and work relationships as it explores
Franklin as a co-discoverer of the double
Franklin's pioneering X-ray photography.
helix [DNA structure]," Maddox told the
Her major achievement was showing the
Detroit Jewish News in a phone interview
double helix structure of the DNA molecule. at the time her book was published.
The production also delves into the
"I'd also like people to remember her as
work of James Watson, Francis Crick and
an example of somebody using every min-
Maurice Wilkins relevant to the discovery.
ute of life and never giving in. She went to
The men were awarded the Nobel Prize for the lab and continued working up until the
their contributions.
end, when she died of cancer. That kind of
Directed by David Magidson, JET
human spirit is totally admirable:"
artistic director, the production features
Franklin, born to a wealthy Jewish family
Pete Podolski (Watson), Andrew Parker
in 1920 and one of five children, knew from
(Crick), Brian Sage (Wilkins) and, portray- the age of 15 that she wanted to be a scien-
Contributing Writer
C
tist. She earned her doctor-
ate in physical chemistry at
Carole Lempert (Rosalind Franklin) and Russ Schwartz
the University of Cambridge
(Dan Caspar) rehearse for JET's production of
and became an expert in
Photograph 51.
X-ray crystallography, cap-
turing the inner structure of
Schwartz, in playing the graduate stu-
molecules through photographs.
dent who gets his doctorate degree while
After working on the structure of coal
assisting in the lab, thinks that the play
with a scientific group in Paris, she accept- brings out everyone's insecurities.
ed a post at King's College in London to
"The script has times when it's witty and
study the structure of DNA with Wilkins.
funny while addressing issues that are very
The two did not get along and pursued
important," Schwartz says. "The structure
their work separately, with Franklin dis-
of the play is nontraditional as the char-
covering two different forms of DNA and
acters tell their stories, and that adds a
making pictures of each type.
special draw:'
Because of her unhappy experiences
Schwartz, a founding member of the
at King's College, Franklin sought other
Penny Seats Theatre Company in Ann
opportunities and went on to work
Arbor, has worked in other JET productions
on viruses at Birkbeck College, also in
— Sonia Flew and The Diary of Anne Frank.
London, where she made great strides and
"The structure of Photograph 51 is like
began getting international attention.
concentric circles," he says. "Audiences will
"This play allows people to take part in
see where characters belong as the play
the discovery process, and it gives Franklin moves ahead:'
credit for what she did," says Magidson,
who explains that the production is part of
JET's Girls and Women in Science Project
Photograph 51 runs Jan. 23-Feb.
to encourage female interest in technical
10 in the Aaron DeRoy Theatre
careers.
in the lower level of the Jewish
"Along with the unfolding of a scientific
Community Center in West
mystery comes the dramatic story of the
Bloomfield. Performances are at
people involved, and I think audiences will
7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 5 and 8:30 p.m.
be captivated by all of that. We're looking
Saturdays and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays.
forward to having groups involved with
Wednesday shows are at 7:30 p.m.
scientific studies in attendance.
Jan. 23,10 a.m. Jan. 30 and 2 p.m.
"It's known that there's a lot of ego in
Feb. 6. $38-$45. (248) 788-2900;
theaters. This play shows there's also a lot
www.jettheatre.org .
of ego in science labs:'
❑
Jews
Nate Bloom
Special to the Jewish News
Jews On Ice
As I write this, it appears the 113-day
lockout of National Hockey League
(NHL) players by the owners is
over. Players were expected to ratify a
air
10-year contract announced on Jan. 7
by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman,
60, and Donald Fehr, 64, the execu-
tive director of the players union
(NHLPA).
The late Marvin Miller built the pro
baseball players union (MLBPA) into
a powerful force
when he was its
head (1968-1983). In
1977, he hired Fehr
and groomed him as
his successor. Fehr
replaced the retiring
Miller in 1983 and
stayed until 2009. In
Fehr
34
January 17 • 2013
late 2010, he became
head of the NHLPA.
Michael Weiner, 51,
a lawyer like Miller,
Bettman and Fehr,
succeeded Fehr as
MLBPA head. Sadly,
Weiner has been bat-
tling a brain tumor
since last July. Nonetheless, he
continues to teach Sunday school
at his New Jersey synagogue and
attend fundraisers for brain-tumor
victims. He told ESPN that he is very
touched by the many Jewish friends
who have asked him his Hebrew name
(Shlomo ben Yitzhak) so they can say
a prayer for him.
On a more upbeat note, here are
the three Jews playing NHL hockey
as the delayed season begins: Michael
Cammalleri, 30, left wing, Calgary
Flames; Jeff Halpern, 36, center,
N.Y. Rangers; and Eric Nystrom, 29,
left wing, Dallas Stars. Nystrom also
played for the University of Michigan
for four years.
Note: Ten more Jewish hockey play-
ers are now playing in the highest
minor league, the AHL, and have a
chance of being called up to the NHL.
TV Notes
The third season of the critically
acclaimed IFC cable series Portlandia,
airing 10 p.m. Fridays, began earlier
this month. It co-stars Fred Armisen
(SNL) and Carrie Brownstein, 38.
They appear in short comedic sketch-
es that satirize the
rip
IF politically correct,
new-age culture of
Portland, Ore.
Brownstein is best
known as one of the
three members of
the popular all-girl
band Sleater-Kinney.
Brownstein
I
The band went on hiatus in 2006, but
Brownstein still plays, now and again,
with band drummer Janet Weiss, 47.
Heather Dubrow, 44, who joined
the cast of the reality show The Real
Housewives of Orange County last
February, makes a guest appearance
on the 10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23,
episode of the TVLand series Hot in
Cleveland. She plays a woman who
tangles with star character Vicky
(Wendie Malick).
Back in 2002, under the name
Heather Paige Kent, Dubrow co-starred
in the short-lived TV series That's
Life. Not long after,
she virtually quit act-
ing in favor of raising
a family with her hus-
band, Terry Dubrow, a
prominent plastic sur-
geon. Married since
1999, the couple have
four children.
Dubrow
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