spotlight
Frankel Academy Presents Brighton Beach Memoirs
F
rankel Jewish Academy in West
Bloomfield will present Brighton
Beach Memoirs, Neil Simon's
popular dramatic comedy and autobio-
graphical play, on May 2 and May 5.
The play follows teenager Eugene
Jerome through puberty and fiercely
fantasized dreams of baseball in 1937's
Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.
Capturing a few days in the life of
a struggling Jewish household that
includes Eugene's hard-working father,
his sharp-tongued mother, his older and
vastly more experienced brother, his wid-
owed aunt and her two young daughters,
the play explores such enduring issues as
sibling resentment, guilt-ridden parent-
child relationships and the hunger for
dignity in a poverty-stricken world.
Mitch Master, Frankel's director of per-
forming and visual arts, directs eight stu-
dent actors. Opening night is Thursday,
May 2, at 7:30 p.m., followed by a mati-
nee performance on Sunday, May 5, at 2
Beth Olam Cemetery
Open Sunday, May 12
The Board of Trustees of Clover Hill Park
Cemetery and Congregation Shaarey
Zedek in Southfield will welcome the
community to visit Beth Olam Cemetery
(Smith Street Cemetery), prior to the
Shavuot Holiday on Sunday, May 12,
between 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Beth Olam, established in 1862, is
located on the site of the General Motors
Cadillac (Poletown) Plant. Entrance to the
cemetery is through the truck gate, and
plant security will assist visitors in locating
the cemetery site.
JARC Art Contest
Deadline May 3
JARC, an organization serving people with
disabilities, is hosting an art contest for
students grades pre-kindergarten through
sixth grade in honor of its upcoming
SpringElation fundraising event. This art
contest is open to the public. Winners
will be announced at JARC's 15th annual
SpringElation at the Detroit Zoo on May
22, where the artwork will be displayed.
Participants should submit an 81/2-by-
11-inch piece of paper displaying their
artistic interpretation of the theme
"Imagine A World Where Anything Is
Possible:' Artwork can be created with
any colorful medium including markers,
crayons, watercolors, pencils and/or paper
collage.
All entries must be received at the JARC
offices by 5 p.m. Friday, May 3, and can be
dropped off to JARC at 30301 Northwestern
Highway, #100, Farmington Hills.
Entries will be judged in four categories:
pre-kindergarten, kindergarten through
first grade, second through third grade and
fourth through sixth grade. The grand prize
winner will receive a $100 gift card and one
honorable mention winner from each age
38
May 2 • 2013
Andre Douville speaks to teens at the workshop.
Jamie Lesson (Laurie), Adam Marcotte
(Stanley), Talia Gothelf (Kate), Yoni
Weiss (Eugene), Mara Cranis (Aunt
Blanche), Lily Grier (Mrs. Murphy), Jonah
Erlich (Jack) and Emily Miller (Nora)
p.m. The production will be performed
at the Berman Center of the Performing
Arts in the Jewish Community Center in
West Bloomfield. Tickets are $15.
For tickets, call the Berman box office
at (248) 661-1900 or purchase online at
www.theberman.org. ❑
category will receive a $25 gift card.
For complete details on the art contest
and to secure your entry form, visit www
jarc.org/jarc-events or call (248) 488-7524.
SpringElation supports JARC's Merle and
Shirley Harris Children and Family Division
providing services to children with disabili-
ties and their families. SpringElation is the
major source of private funding for JARC's
services for children with disabilities. For
more information or to purchase tickets,
visit www.jarc.org/jarc-events.
Beth Ahm Hosts
Lupovitch DVD series
Congregation Beth Ahm in West
Bloomfield invites lifelong learners
throughout the community to "Drop in
and Learn" on four Wednesday after-
noons at 1 p.m. beginning May 8, as the
shul screens a four-part lecture series on
DVD entitled, One Book, Three Traditions:
Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Views of
the Bible, by Professor Howard Lupovitch,
recently named head of the Cohn-Haddow
Center for Judaic Studies at Wayne State
University.
The series, originally presented at Beth
Ahm in February 2013, was made possible
by the shul's newly established Henry and
Alice Thumin Institute of Judaic Studies.
In the series,
Lupovitch explores
"how the deeds (and
misdeeds) of the major
figures of the Bible were
regarded and interpreted
by Jewish, Christian and
Muslim scholars, and
how these Biblical fig-
Professor
ures became archetypes
Howard
Lupovitch
of piety and morality for
all three faiths:'
The screening dates and lecture
topics for the DVD series are as fol-
ZOA Hosts Israel Workshop For Teens
T
he Zionist Organization of
America-Michigan Region
hosted its second annual Israel
Education Workshop on April 21 at
the Jewish Community Center in West
Bloomfield.
High school students from both public
and Jewish day schools around Metro
Detroit participated in the half-day
workshop.
Students learned about Israel's history,
Jewish heritage and advocating for Israel
lows: Wednesday, May 8, "Abraham,
Ishmael, David: Bearers of the Covenant";
Wednesday, May 22, "Moses and Elijah:
Conduits of the Divine"; Wednesday, May
29, "Miriam and Esther: Women as Heroes
and Leaders"; and Wednesday, June 5,
"Roundtable Discussion: The Bible as
Foundation Stone" There will be no ses-
sion on May 16 (first day of Shavuot).
Each lecture is about one hour long,
self-contained and followed by a brief
informal discussion moderated by Nancy
Kaplan. There is no charge and no reserva-
tions are required. All are welcome.
Beth Ahm is located at 5075 West
Maple Road in West Bloomfield, just west
of Inkster Road. For more information
contact Nancy Kaplan at (248) 737-1931 or
email nancyellen879@att.net.
Anti-Bullying Rally
At Campus Martius
Defeat the Label, a Bloomfield Hills-
based anti-bullying nonprofit dedicated
to empowering students to take a stand
against bullying in their own schools and
communities, will hold a rally Friday,
May 3, at Campus Martius in Downtown
Detroit beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Stand4Change Against Bullying Day, an
international call to action against bully-
ing, takes place across the world the same
day.
The local rally, which includes a concert
by Atlantic Records Country Artist Ty
Stone, will be emceed by WYCD 99.5's Dr.
Don and will provide local students, edu-
cators, businesses and residents an oppor-
tunity to publicly show their support for
the global Defeat the Label movement.
Attendees will also hear an impassioned
plea from Kevin Epling, the father of Matt
Epling, who ended his life in 2002 after
being bullied. Eight food trucks from the
Metro Detroit will be on hand for lunch.
from guest speakers, including Andre
Douville, executive director at Temple
Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield and
president of the annual Walk For Israel,
Rabbi Aaron Starr, director of educa-
tion and youth at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek in Southfield, and Kobi Erez,
executive director, ZOA-MI.
Workshop participants were eligible
to apply for scholarships to be used
toward the cost of summer or yearlong
educational programs in Israel.
❑
Area schools may participate by reg-
istering at stand4change.org . The event,
sponsored by Quicken Loans and CBS
Radio Detroit in partnership with the
National Educational Association, Anti-
Defamation League, American Association
of School Administrators and American
Federation of Teachers, is free.
Divorce Help
For Women
The decision to divorce is never an easy
one, and the process can be confusing and
overwhelming, even for the most educated
and independent women. These challenges
were the impetus behind the creation of
the Women's Divorce Resource Center
(WDRC), a nonprofit that aims to inform
and empower local women who are con-
templating or going through divorce.
WDRC was co-founded in 2012 by Vicki
McLellan and Rebecca Salama, who both
have worked extensively with women
on the financial side of divorce and rec-
ognized the need to provide more com-
prehensive resources and support. Both
women are running WDRC on a volunteer
basis, in addition to maintaining their full-
time jobs as certified financial planners.
WDRC hosts regular educational semi-
nars titled "Your Divorce Workshop" to
provide information and resources to
women considering divorce or in the early
stages. Experts in legal, financial and fam-
ily counseling services are on hand to
offer advice and tips to attendees.
The next workshop takes place
Saturday, May 18, from 9:45 a.m.-1
p.m. at the Bloomfield Township Public
Library. The cost is $45 per person, and
includes refreshments and workshop
materials. Pre-registration is required.
Women can register in advance online
at www.womens-divorce.org , or call (248)
799-5938.