roNG Hu
Oil
arts & entertainment
FINE CHINESE DINING
World-Class Arts
'A wonderful adventure in fine dining" — Danny Raskin
MOT's new hire is charged with
expanding the fan base for opera
and dance.
I
0
A
,
Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner
Catering and carryout available
Gift certificates
27925 Orchard Lake Rd., North of 12 Mile, Farmington Hills
248-489-2280
www.honghuafinedining.com
1931030
"Much-heralded Star Deli slow-cooks
its own tender temptations"
— Danny Raskin
Entertaining
a Group?
Order the best
trays in town!
ELI
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Holiday Trays &
Specialties today!
COMPARE OUR LOW PRICES WITH ANY DELICATESSEN IN TOWN.
MEAT TRAY
DAIRY TRAY
SALAD TRAY
$10.99W,..
$21.49 person
$11.49 person
SALAD TRAY W/ LOX & CREAM CHEESE
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Our Regular Tuna & Fat-Free Tuna Can't Be Beat!
Vegetarian Chopped Liver
Homemade Potato Salad & Coleslaw
HOURS: MON-SAT 7AM-9PM • SUN 7AM-8PM I On Star's beautiful already
24555 W. 12 MILE ROAD
Just west of Telegraph Road • Southfield
248-352-7377
low-priced trays
Expires 11/27/14. One Per Order. Not Good Holidays. I
10 Person Minimum. With this coupon.
DELIVERY AVAILABLE
www.stardeli.net
1957630
"For 40 years, Gallery Restaurant has served up
THE GALLEIiES
Daily Special to
frora'foz lunch &dinner...
Dinner spell % come with coreflimenta rice Obi chocolate pudding orfiello
album
_gym
OPEN 7 DAYS:
Now Serving
Beer & Wine
MON.- SAT. 7 a.m.- 9:30 p.m.
SUN. 8 a.m.- 9 p.m.
Bloomfield Plaza • 6638 Telegraph Road and Maple • 248-851-0313
46
November 6 • 2014
Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer
lan Harrison jokes with friends
back in Seattle that the official
bird of Detroit must be the
construction crane because that's what
he sees and hears as he gets to know
the area surrounding the Detroit Opera
House.
Harrison recently joined Michigan
Opera Theatre to take on the newly
created position of chief patron officer,
working to bring the sights and sounds
of opera and dance to larger audiences.
"This position will
combine our dual
income streams from
fundraising and sup-
port (corporate or
individual) and from
ticket sales:' says
Harrison, who will
have
oversight of sales,
Alan Harrison
messaging and fund-
raising.
"I believe that opera and dance are
among the most accessible of all the arts,
and we want people to have a good time.
MOT is known around the country as a
familial home for really wonderful art-
ists, performers and community."
Harrison, who has had a long career
in administering nonprofit performing
arts organizations, looks forward to the
upcoming programs in the 2014-2015
season, which has returned the company
to a five-opera schedule.
Having a Jewish background that kept
him active with Temple Beth Ahm in
Seattle, Harrison is glad to bring opera
to the Berman Center for the Performing
Arts.
Frida, based on the life of Mexican
painter Frida Kahlo, will be staged
March 21-22 at the Berman Center in
the Jewish Community Center in West
Bloomfield.
Other upcoming opera productions,
to be presented at the Detroit Opera
House, include Madame Butterfly (Nov.
15-23), The Merry Widow (April 11 - 19)
and Faust (May 9-17). Future dance
programs spotlight The Nutcracker
as choreographed by BalletMet (Nov.
28-30), The Light Show as performed by
the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble (Jan.
31) and the Alvin Ailey American Dance
Theater (March 19-22).
"Madame Butterfly is one of the most
accessible operas, and it's a beautiful
story:' Harrison says. "The Merry Widow
is beautiful and fun. Of course, Faust
signs the dotted line and loses his soul."
Harrison, 55, aimed to be a singer and
actor as a teenager living in California.
There was considerable music in his life
as he performed with school and temple
choirs.
After earning a bachelor's degree in
drama from the University of California-
Irvine, he moved to New York and tried
acting for a few years.
"I decided that the people with more
creative juices flowing were the ones
on the production side so I became a
producer, starting out as special projects
director at Lincoln Center Theater; says
Harrison, who later studied nonprofit
leadership at Stanford University.
"In California, I worked at the
Pasadena Playhouse for several years
before going on to the Pittsburgh Public
Theater. I was at the Seattle Repertory
Theatre before going on to the Alabama
Shakespeare Festival:'
For the past 17 years, Harrison has
worked for nonprofits in Seattle. He was
executive director for Arts West, named
201 l's Theatre of the Year in the region,
and he has run his own consulting com-
pany, Voice of Reason Enterprises.
Harrison's 15-year-old daughter enjoys
singing, dancing and acting but does not
want to do that for a living. Harrison's
favorite pastimes away from work are
hiking, biking and watching sports. He
plans on becoming a Lions fan although
the Seattle Seahawks have his heart.
"Our No. 1 goal at MOT is to help make
Detroit a great place to live he says. "Our
charter involves making the community
its best self by using the tools of the arts to
enlighten and engage people.
"There's a great deal of positive eco-
nomic impact that MOT brings to the city,
and I want that to be recognized, grow
and become leveraged to make Detroit
more of a world-class city than it is.
"To do that, we're going to have to
engage a wider focus of educated people.
We have incredibly devoted opera and
dance fans, and we have to grow that fan
base and make it younger so that our art
forms will last for years to come:'
❑
For more information about
Michigan Opera Theatre's
upcoming events, visit www.
michiganopera.org .