'Remember Mother's Day Sunday, May 12th. d
2.11

3tOAC:5

"The show is
about guys who are
coming up with a
doo-wop group for
a competition."

JEWELRY

- Mathew Schwartz

Schwartz. "I didn't know much about
it, but I ended up auditioning and
making it in.
"I continued with theater at West
Bloomfield High School and partici-
pated in just about every production
from freshman year to senior year. I
performed, directed, did backstage
work and took on stage manage-
ment."
Schwartz gained experience
through musicals, such as Camelot,
Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed
in Business Without Really Trying.
He also participated in programs at
Temple Israel.
"I'm certainly going to be in the
Meadow Brook audience," says
Temple Israel Rabbi Joshua Bennett,
who has led many youth activities.
"I've known Mathew since his early
teens, and he was always outgoing
and funny.
"I think he gained more confi-
dence through the successes of his
participation. He was always a kid
we could count on."
After attending Western Michigan
University for a year, Schwartz
decided on-the-job training worked
best for him. Following an intern-
ship with Disney operations in
Florida, he began managing special
events.
"I auditioned as an entertainer
and became a dancer for parades
and shows on the property," recalls
Schwartz, who learned how to dance
by watching a cousin, Randi Kaye.
He learned how to sing by joining
choirs.
His many professional roles
include Cornelius Hackl in Hello
Dolly! at the Fireside Theatre
in Wisconsin, Corny Collins in
Hairspray at the Merry-Go-Round
Playhouse in New York State and
Roger in Grease at the Wagon Wheel
Theatre in Indiana.
While traveling around, he studied

business online, earning a degree
from Herzing University.
"I get close with peers in this
business because we work and live
together as we develop each show,"
says Schwartz, getting to know
Perwin, a former Floridian who
spent summers at the Interlochen
Center for the Arts and now is based
in New York.
Perwin, a Harvard literature grad-
uate who also teaches and tutors,
portrays the bad boy of the singing
group.
"The music in this show is great
fun, and I'm glad to be at Meadow
Brook for the first time says
Perwin, who participates in the
choir at the Soho Synagogue in
Manhattan.
Perwin's stage credits include
roles as Pirate King in The Pirates of
Penzance at Fiddlehead Theatre in
Massachusetts, Frank Butler in Annie
Get Your Gun at the Park Playhouse
in New York State and Nick Arnstein
in Funny Girl at the Gretna Theatre
in Pennsylvania.
Schwartz, who is single, recently
was in New York City for a series of
auditions to take him to additional
stages. He has had callbacks.
Even though ready to travel a
more winding theater route, he feels
ever connected to Michigan. He
knows wherever he goes, his mail
is headed to a family address as he
steers his Ford Focus.

❑

Life could be a Dream runs

Wednesdays-Sundays, April
24-May 19, at the Meadow
Brook Theatre on the campus of
Oakland University in Rochester.
$25-$40. For performance times
and tickets, call (248) 377-3300,
or visit www.mbtheatre.com .

6881 Orchard Lake Rd. • on the Boardwalk • (248) 851-5030

In honor of
Mother's Day,
the JN wants to
know why you
think your mother
is the best in
Metro Detroit.
(You know she
s, so just enter
already!)

Jewish mothers are iconic. They have been
lampooned by comics — and Jewish children — for
years, but no one can doubt their love. Tell us in 200
words or less why your mother reigns supreme —
and maybe you'll win one of our three great prizes,
including gift cards to local restaurants and more.

Email your entry, with Mother's Day
in the subject line to
kcohen@renmedia.us by
May 1, along with a jpg (500k-1 mb)
of a family photo that includes your
mother. (Avoid the guilt, send that
email now!)

April 18 • 2013

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