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Maggie Meyer and Matthew David in Disgraced

Disgraced

Expect the Best...
Expect the Purple Truck!

JET’s newest play is fraught with questions.

1-800-HAGOPIAN

(424-6742)

RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

D

isgraced, the Pulitzer Prize-
winning play by Ayad Akhtar,
made its stage debut in 2012,
but its relevance to today’s world is
even greater now than it was then.
Running at the Jewish Ensemble
Theatre through April 9, the play forc-
es us to look at issues such as racism,
sexism, terrorism and Islamaphobia
through the multicultural lens of its
characters, and the result is a power-
ful story fraught with questions with
no easy answers. While Disgraced
starts out mildly, it quickly builds to
a hurricane of emotions that leaves
everyone, including the audience,
stunned and searching for solutions.
In the opening scene, the calm
before the storm, Amir Kapoor
(Matthew David), a high-powered
Pakistani American mergers and
acquisitions lawyer, is posing for a
portrait by his wife, Emily (Maggie
Meyer), a white artist whose work is
infused with her passion for Islamic
imagery. Amir is an admitted “lapsed
Muslim,” who has changed his name
in an effort to distance himself from
his heritage and to pre-empt potential
problems at his Jewish-run law firm.
Emily embraces Islamic culture to the
same degree her husband eschews it.
The rest of the play focuses on an
ill-fated dinner party in the upscale
Manhattan apartment of Amir and
Emily, who have invited another
couple over to celebrate the accep-
tance of Emily’s paintings in a show
at the prestigious Whitney museum.
The husband, Isaac (Michael Brian
Ogden), is a Jew who also happens
to be the curator of the show that
will host Emily’s work. His wife, Jory
(Casaundra Freeman), is an outspo-

ken African American who is also an
up-and-coming lawyer at Amir’s firm.
After more than a few stiff drinks
and some shocking verbal exchanges,
tensions mount and finally explode
into a perfect storm that will forever
impact the individuals, their friend-
ships and their respective marriages.
Adding another dimension to the
mix is Amir’s nephew Abe (Laith
Salim), who pressures his uncle to
help an imam accused of raising
money for terrorists. While Abe pro-
fesses to embrace his Muslim heritage,
he has also changed his name from
Hussein to smooth his transition into
American culture. Abe illustrates one
of the strengths of the play — the
fact that none of the characters are
ideal role models for their respective
cultures. Whether Muslim, Jewish,
African American or WASP, all have
character flaws and wavering moral
compasses that impact them as much
as their backgrounds.
The entire 90 minutes (without
intermission) are well-paced and
unpredictable, thanks to skillful direc-
tion by Christopher Bremer, who is
also executive director of the JET.
Scenic designer Elspeth Williams has
created a stylish uptown terraced
apartment that any New Yorker would
covet. Costumes (Mary Copenhagen),
lighting (Neil Koivu) and sound (Matt
Lira) add to the overall effect without
distracting from the talented actors
and the powerful dialogue they deliver
in every scene. •

details

Disgraced runs through April 9 at the
Aaron Deroy Theatre in West Bloomfield.
$44. (248) 788-2900; jettheatre.org.

OR

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Small Shul

Big Seder

1 st Night Seder

Monday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m.

Experience the freedom of Passover
and enjoy a delicious meal
without the cooking and cleanup.
Dietary laws observed.

Seder led by
Rabbi Rubenstein.
Special activities
for the kids.

Advanced registration to 248-851-6880 by April 3 is required.

$47 per adult, $30 per child ages 4-12,
children 3 and under are free.
Register before March 27 and save $5 per person.

co-sponosored by:

Congregation Beth Ahm

Big enough to enrich you. Small enough to know you.

>LZ[4HWSL>LZ[)SVVTÄLSK40
 www.cbahm.org

jn

March 23 • 2017

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