arts & life

What A Feeling!

Jacob Tischler

adds to the

energy of

Flashdance.

The cast of Flashdance

Flashdance - The Musical
runs March 10-22 at the
Fisher Theatre in Detroit.
$35-$90. (313) 872-1000;
broadwayindetroit.com .

CPIPhritv

Jews

Nate Bloom

Special to the Jewish News

KOSHER SOUL?
The trailer is pretty wild and
the series may end up offend-
ing some. But I think it's worth
checking out the new Lifetime
reality series Kosher Soul for
at least a couple of episodes (it
started on
Wednesday,
Feb. 25, at
10 p.m., and
will follow
with many
encores).
It's about
Sternoff and
the real-

McKnight

56

February 26 • 2015

I

Suzanne Chessler

Contributing Writer

I

n a show filled with fast danc-

ing, Jacob Tischler's character
(Jimmy) changes the pace
with standup.
Flashdance — The Musical,
a stage adaptation of the 1983
movie with a Grammy Award-
winning score — including
"Flashdance-What a Feeling"
"Maniac" and "Gloria" — brings
16 new numbers to its stop at
the Fisher
Theatre
March
10-22.
Alex
Owens (Karli
Dinardo), at
the center of
the storyline,
works as a
steel mill
welder by
day and a
bar dancer
by night.
Aiming for a professional dance
career, Alex finds her ambitions
complicated by a romantic attrac-
tion to her steel mill boss (Adam
Rennie).
"The show is very high-energy
with tons of dancing and tons of
wonderful music that combine
different styles:' says Tischler, 24.
"We have the iconic '80s
soundtrack from the movie as
well as the new songs created by
Robbie Roth and Robert Cary"
Tischler plays a sous chef and

life engagement of African-
American comedian O'Neal
McKnight, a recent convert to
Judaism, and Jewish fashion
stylist Miriam Sternoff, both
"30-something." (We even see,
in non-graphic detail, his sym-
bolic bris wherein just a drop of
blood is drawn.)
Here's part of the official
description: "Despite doubts
and concerns from their loved
ones, recently engaged Miriam
and O'Neal are preparing to
marry and begin their lives
in a Jewish home. Madly in
love, O'Neal is ready to prove
his dedication to Miriam by
converting to Judaism in
order to be accepted by her

waiter in the bar where Alex
dances and he tries out comedy
routines.
"Whereas Alex can go on to
become a dancer, there's no hope
for Jimmy," Tischler says. "He has
a big, big heart, just not a very
comedic soul. He tries, and that
makes him stand out.
"I can relate to this because I
am very bad at cracking jokes but
will try to do so enthusiastically
and frequently. Playing this kind
of character is not so much acting
as it is letting my true personality
shine through. Sometimes, that's
kind of scary and, other times, it's
incredibly liberating"
Tischler's interest in funny men
started when he was a 4-year-old
in Vermont and watching Circus
Smirkus, the only touring youth
circus in the United States. All
the performers are between the
ages of 10 and 18.
He had to wait four years
before attending the company's
summer camp, then seven sea-
sons to tour as a clown during
high-school summers.
Musical theater became a focus
as he went through middle school
and high school, performing in a
school production every fall and
a community-theater production
every spring.
Tischler brought his parents
into a production of Hello, Dolly!
to make stage a family experi-
ence. His father, a cardiologist,
brought Judaism into the fam-
ily's religious experiences, which
included Unitarian practices

mother, Nancy, who wants her
future grandchildren to be
raised Jewish. Miriam is try-
ing to blend O'Neal's Southern
upbringing and traditions into
her life. A hilarious and touching
peek into the love and affection
between two soul mates whose
deep and emotional connection
overcomes cultural barriers."

AT THE MOVIES
Opening this week is the
acclaimed documentary Red
Army. The film is centered on
the famous Soviet-era hockey
team that was professional in
all but name and dominated
the Olympics (except when the
Americans shockingly upset

114- 411 1

Jacob Tischler

introduced by the actor's mother.
"I went to Carnegie Mellon
University in Pittsburgh, where
Flashdance is based" explains
Tischler, who aims toward stage
and film achievements equal to
those of fellow alum Zach Quinto
(Star Trek).
"I was an acting major and
incorporated musical-theater
classes into my curriculum. I
consider myself primarily an
actor who sings" although he
took dance classes in high school
and college.
In the second act of
Flashdance, Tischler sings,
"Where I Belong" as his character
returns to Pittsburgh after trying
to succeed as a mainstream New
York comic.
"I may be biased, but that's
my favorite song in the show"
Tischler says. "It's a lot of fun
and very Billy Joel-esque. It's got
a nice swing to it, and I'm very
thankful that I [get to do it] every
night:'
Although this is his first tour,
Tischler has worked in regional
theater. He played the stage man-
ager in a production of White

Christmas at Northern Stage in
Vermont and appeared as Prince
Herbert in Spamalot at the New
London Barn Playhouse in New
Hampshire.
Tischler, single and based in
New York, has been developing
Grindr: The Musical, about the
gay mobile-dating app in the
title. He has worked on the book,
music and lyrics in collaboration
with other students at Carnegie
Mellon, with whom he has pre-
viously brought shows to New
York.
"I don't relate to the Grindr
experience. I'm a heterosexual
male. What I do relate to is the
examination of this application"
says Tischler. "The first produc-
tion is only 15 minutes long.
We're trying to expand it into a
full-length musical and see where
it takes us:'
As the Flashdance tour takes
him around the country, Tischler
finds the musical special because
of the new material.
"We got a chance to work with
the creative voices for the show"
he says. "That has given the cast
a nice sense of ownership:' ❑

them in 1980). It shows the
counterplay between politics
and sports during the Soviet
era - and when, just before the
Soviet Union collapsed, the Red
Army team players were wooed
by the NHL, then left for the
NHL en masse. Critics agreed
it is more than a sports story,
with A.O. Scott of the New York
Times calling it "a stirring, crazy
story - a
Russian novel
of Tolstoyan
sweep and
Gogol-esque
absurdity." It
has humor and
pathos.
The director
Polsky

and writer, Gabe Polsky, 35, got
a remarkable series of inter-
views with ex-players. Polsky's
parents were from Kiev and
moved to the States in 1975. His
parents moved around (he was
born in Minnesota; his younger
brother, Alan, in Detroit), before
settling in Chicago, where his
father made millions as the
founder/head of a wind-energy
company. Polsky graduated
from Yale, gave up his dream of
being a pro-hockey player, and
opted to become a TV/movie
producer (with Alan). They have
produced quite a few films, but
Red Army is Polsky's first out-
ing as a director. ❑