arts & life

Editor's
Picks

Think Pink

The world is

coming up pink for

Abby Bernbaum,

who helps bring

Pinkalicious to

the Berman.

Abby Bernbaum

Pinkalicious, The Musical
will be performed at 1
and 3 p.m. Sunday, March
8, at the Berman in the
West Bloomfield Jewish
Community Center. $22
adults; $17 children. (248)
661-1900; theberman.org .

40

I

MOON RIVER

Lynne
Konsta nt in

Suzanne Chessler

Arts & Life
Editor

Contributing Writer

I is not easy to resist a pink
cupcake.
Especially if your favor-
ite color is pink. And your
name is Pinkalicious. But
when Pinkalicious ignores her
parents' warnings about eating
too many lusciously colored
cupcakes, she turns pink from
head to toe.
Enter Abby Bernbaum, who
diagnoses Pinkalicious with Pinkititis as
Dr. Wink (she also plays Alison, the title
character's best friend) in Pinkalicious,
The Musical, which has two afternoon
performances Sunday, March 8, at the
Berman Center for the Performing Arts
at the West Bloomfield JCC.
"As the doctor, I have a solo number,
Tinkititis: which is a cute song-and-
dance routine," says Bernbaum, in her
20s and taking the show on the road. "All
the music in the show is on tracks:'
Pinkalicious, The Musical was devel-
oped in 2006 by the Vital Theatre
Company in New York and has been
touring the United States and Canada.
The show is based on the enormously
popular New York Times best-selling
children's book Pinkalicious, written
by Jewish sisters Elizabeth Kann and
Victoria Kann, who also wrote the script
and worked on the lyrics. "Pinkalicious
has many qualities that I admire," says
Elizabeth Kann. "She is a girl who has
an incredible imagination. She knows
what she likes and is very brave and
courageous. But when she does some-
thing wrong she learns from her lessons.
Wherever she goes there seems to be a
bit of magic and a lot of fun:'
In addition to writing the script for the
musical, the Kann sisters also worked on
the lyrics with John Gregor, who provid-
ed the music, lyrics and orchestrations.
Teresa Pond was stage director with Jad
Bernardo in charge of musical direction.
"The play is fun and funny," Bernbaum
says. "There are lots of jokes for adults
and kids so everybody can enjoy it. All
the songs are very different and bring
different elements to the show. They
keep it quick, and it's all very creative:'
The Vital Theatre organization com-
missions new musicals for children and
families and has presented some 50 orig-
inal productions for more than 160,000
children and their families. Since its
founding in 1999, Vital's Family Series
has been honored with two Awards for
Excellence by the Off Off Broadway
Review. One of its productions, a 2012

IPinkalicious,
the Musical
comes to the

-

version of Angelina Ballerina, starred
Bernbaum as the dancing mouse.
"This is my first tour," says Bernbaum,
whose off-work hours are spent explor-
ing cities new to her. She learned details
about Michigan from a friend raised
in Saginaw; they met doing shows in
Arizona.
"I've danced since I was 3 years old,"
says Bernbaum, who triumphed at dance
competitions at the Maccabi Games in
her native Texas. "I got into acting when
I was 4 or 5. My grandmother put me in
summer community theater productions
when I would visit her in Louisiana.
"It was freshman year in high school
when I realized that performance was
serious for me, not just a hobby. I want-
ed to go to New York University and met
with an audition coach, who helped me
prepare with songs and monologues:'
Bernbaum auditioned for a dozen
schools before learning she was accepted
by her first choice.
"Right after school, I got a job working
in an equity theater in Florida, where
I was cast in Seven Brides for Seven
Brothers," she says. "Then I did shows
at the Arizona Broadway Theatre in
Peoria, where I was Little Red in Into the
Woods:'
Back in New York, she performed with
the Metropolitan Opera and in a Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade.
"I did a partner dance to 'Boogie
Woogie Bugle Boy,"' she recalls of her
holiday appearance. "There were two
dozen of us in 2013 in an alumni pro-
gram. Going down Fifth Avenue and
looking at thousands of people was one
of the most incredible experiences I ever
had:'
Bernbaum, in a relationship with actor
and composer Liam Nelligan, is develop-
ing a sketch comedy group for actor par-
ticipation in between productions.
"We'll be shooting videos and putting
them up on YouTube," she says. "It helps
performers be creative. They're not get-
ting paid, but they're making something
happen:' ❑

Drink in the gorgeously iconic
Breakfast at Tiffany's on the big
screen. Starring Audrey Hepburn
and Detroit-native George
Peppard (shown, during a break),
directed by Blake Edwards and
based on the novella by
Truman Capote, the 1961
film plays Friday-Saturday,
March 6-7 at the also-
iconic Redford Theatre
— where you also get real
butter on your popcorn.
$5. (313) 537-2560;
redfordtheatre.com .

BIG, BAD (BUT GOOD) WOOLF

Selected for the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for drama,
Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
caused an uproar due to profanity and sexual
themes, resulting in the award being overruled
(no drama prize was given that year). Further
popularized by Mike Nichols' 1966 film starring
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the play
is now presented by the Village Players of
Birmingham, directed by Tim Wittlinger and
featuring Ann Arbor-resident Erica Shubin
as Honey. $18; March 6-22. (248) 644-2075;
birminghamvillageplayers.com .

CHILLED THRILL

The No.1 animated movie of all time gets the
Disney on Ice treatment: Sing along with Idina
Menzel's crazy-popular "Let it Go" plus "Do You
Want to Build a Snowman" and "Fixer Upper"
as Anna and Elsa glide about the ice in Disney
on Ice presents Frozen at the Palace of Auburn
Hills March 12-15. $38-$93. (800) 745.3000;
palacenet.com .

UP CLOSE WITH THE DSO

A full musical program from the DSO, right
in your backyard? Yes — with the William
Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series, held
at various venues around Metro Detroit. Next
up: a Mozart Clarinet Concerto, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 12, at the Berman Center for
the Performing Arts in West Bloomfield and
Sibelius & Grieg, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 19,
at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
(313) 576-5111; dso.org . ❑