▪
71
,17777 ,
1300 Lafayette East, a 30-floor
. ■
apartment building designed by
Detroit architect Gunnar Birkerts, was
constructed from 1961-1964 in the
Lafayette Park neighborhood of Detroit.—
In JET premiere, a young Jewish housewife and an ambitious black singer
become friends while living as neighbors in Detroit's Lafayette Park.
I
Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer
Smith as singer Reena, Roosevelt Johnson as
in Bloomfield Township.
record executive Clive and Bello Pizzimenti
"It's also exciting to explore Jewish-black
as teenage William, son of the doorman.
relationships in a co-production of Jewish
rooke Berman drove this month's
Last year, 1300 Lafayette East was pre-
and black theater companies.
snow-covered roadways with the
sented as a staged reading in workshop style
"It's been wonderful to work with Gary
intent of chauffeuring theater audi-
by the Performance Network Theatre in
Anderson. He feels so passionately about
ences back to Downtown Detroit in 1967.
Ann Arbor. Carla Milarch, associate artistic
Detroit politics and race relations. Also, we
After temporarily settling into the
director, responded to a post on Berman's
have similar theatrical reference points as
Southfield apartment of her grandmother,
Facebook page, where the playwright asked
we like to work collaboratively"
Ida Lucas, the New York-based play-
for help assuring script authenticity.
Anderson connected to the play because
wright maneuvered her way to the Jewish
"The current production came through
it follows the development of a friendship
Community Center in West Bloomfield and
the Jewish Plays Project in New York:'
in a timeframe when this type of friendship
helped prepare for the premiere staging of
Berman explains. "Originally, JET and
was rare.
1300 Lafayette East.
Plowshares had been planning to present
"This play can open dialogue and
The production, about the
Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting,
engage people in conversations for greater
relationship of a young Jewish
but they lost the rights to it (it understanding:' says Anderson, who was
housewife and a black aspir-
was picked up for Broadway)
a 5-year-old living in Ypsilanti during the
ing singer, is a joint venture of
and needed a play.
year in which the play is set.
the Jewish Ensemble Theatre
"David Magidson, JET
"I've done research into this period, and
and the Plowshares Theatre
artistic director, called the
I'm always glad to learn something new
Company.
Jewish Plays Project, and he
about it.
It runs Jan. 29-Feb. 23 in the
was sent my play. It was per-
"I want this production, as all the
Aaron DeRoy Theatre at the
fect timing. I could work with productions I direct, to be clear and well-
JCC in West Bloomfield and
Gary Anderson on another
communicated. It has something important
March 6-30 at the Charles H.
draft of the script"
to say, and I like using theater to build
Playwright
Wright Museum of African
Berman, whose playwriting bridges"
Brooke Ber man
American History in Detroit.
credits include Hunting and
Berman, who always enjoyed writing,
"The play is based on sto-
won her first literary prize while attending
Gathering and My New Best
ries I heard from my late mother, Marilyn
Friend, also wrote the book No Place Like
McIntyre Elementary School in Lathrup
Berman, who lived in the building shortly
Home: A Memoir in 39 Apartments. The
Village. She started keeping journals when
after marrying my late father, Harvey
content of the book, giving her experiences
she was 16 and living outside Chicago and
Berman" says the playwright, 44, wife of
with New York apartments, meshes with
has maintained the practice.
writer Gordon Haber and mom of their
the general environment explored through
Trying to become a New York actress
3-year-old son, Benjamin.
her latest stage project.
when she was 20, Berman performed her
"The building was glamorous and beauti-
"It's so exciting to do a play about Detroit
own monologues in small clubs, calling
ful, and people living there felt as if they
for people living in and around the city:' says
attention to pieces she had developed while
had escaped the world a bit. At the same
Berman, who spent part of her youth living
studying at Barnard College in Mnahattan.
time that my parents lived in the high-rise,
in Huntington Woods and Southfield and
"Around that period, a 10-minute play I
Diana Ross and the Supremes had apart-
attended religious services at Temple Beth El
had written was produced by a professional
ments in the building.
1300 Lafayette East runs Jan. 29-Feb. 23 in the Aaron DeRoy Theatre at the
"The fictional play explores the world in
Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. Performances are at 7:30 p.m.
which the characters' friendship developed
Wednesdays, Jan. 29 and Feb.19, as well as Thursdays, Jan. 30 and Feb. 6,13
and the limitations of that kind of friendship
and 20; 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays, Feb.1, 8,15 and 22; 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb.
at a time when race relations outside the
12, and Sundays, Feb. 2, 9,16 and 23; and 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9. $41-$48. (248)
building were incredibly charged"
788-2900. www.jettheatre.org .
The production — directed by Gary
The play runs March 6-30 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African
Anderson, Plowshares artistic director —
American History, 315 E. Warren, in Detroit. Times, days and prices are yet to
features Sharla Mills as housewife Elly,
be announced. (313) 593-0926; www.plowshares.org .
Andrew Papa as husband David, Lisa Lauren
B
company, and I realized that playwriting
could be a viable path for me:' she explains.
"I became involved with a handful of
small theater companies and entered a
graduate program in playwriting at the
Juilliard School when I was 28.
"I joined the writers' groups of the the-
aters I admired, such as the Rising Phoenix
Repertory and Primary Stages, did readings
and workshops, went to development colo-
nies and festivals, and sent my work out:'
Hunting and Gathering, which premiered
on Primary Stages in New York, was named
one of the 10 Best of 2008 by New York
magazine; it starred Mamie Gummer,
daughter of megastar Meryl Streep, and
Keira Naughton, daughter of stage and TV
actor James Naughton.
As Berman attended Michigan rehears-
als for 1300 Lafayette East and did some
rewrites during the early January snow-
storm, she asked for impressions from the
cast.
"I like that my character is trying to reach
out in friendship" says Mills, in rehearsal
as the Jewish housewife. It's been wonderful
being part of a premiere and having a play-
wright open to opinions:'
This will be Berman's first play produced
in Michigan.
Just recently returned to New York after
five years living in Los Angeles, she is a
LABA (laboratory for Jewish culture inspir-
ing the creation of new art) fellow at the
14th Street Y, where she is starting to write
a new play about marriage and mother-
hood.
Also in the works is sending out a short
film completed in California for festival
consideration.
"I look forward to returning to Michigan
for the opening of the play:' Berman says.
"When I was in the area for rehearsals,
it was the first time I had driven in snow
since high school, but I didn't mind at all.
"By the time I get back, I'll be a pro at
driving in the snow, and the actors will be
fully ready to dig into the work of entertain-
ing audiences7
❑
JN
January 23 • 2014
37