arts&life
continued from page 39
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44
September 7 • 2017
jn
ing numbers of participants.
“We’re very thankful to Temple
Israel for letting us use their newly
renovated facilities to accommodate
our larger crowd, and we welcome
everyone looking for some laughs to
join us. Funds raised from the gala
support our outreach productions for
students, who explore issues impor-
tant to them by seeing the issues
dramatized.”
Besides watching plays about bul-
lying, students get an understanding
of the Jewish experience through
a production of The Diary of Anne
Frank.
“This year’s mainstage theme is
the ‘outsider,’ and the works of four
outstanding contemporary play-
wrights will bring our attention to
a subject that Jewish people have
known throughout history,” Bremer
says. “The gala also brings to mind an
often-mentioned Jewish tendency —
approaching life with humor.”
The Capitol Steps began as a group
of Senate staffers who set out in
1981 to satirize the very people and
places that employed them: Some
staffers for the late Sen. Charles Percy
were planning entertainment for a
Christmas party — they decided to
dig into the headlines of the day, and
they created song parodies and skits.
With a supportive audience, some
staffers went on to form the troupe,
but not all of the current Steps
have been staffers. Taken together,
the performers have worked in 18
Congressional offices and represent
62 years of collective House and
Senate experience.
Since they began, the Capitol Steps
have recorded more than 30 albums
and have been featured on NBC, CBS,
ABC and PBS. They can be heard
twice a year on National Public Radio
stations during their Politics Takes a
Holiday radio show.
“This program featuring the
Capitol Steps moves JET into a new
era,” says Elaine Sturman, JET board
president who came up with the idea
based on the success of booking the
troupe years ago for an event sup-
porting the Anti-Defamation League.
“Funds raised will help with an
expanding outreach to young people
as we begin our first year offering
productions at the Detroit Film
Theatre in the Detroit Institute of
Arts. Last year, 5,200 students saw
The Diary of Anne Frank, and with
the new theater added, we’re hoping
to reach between 7,500 and 10,000
students.”
Sturman is excited about the con-
temporary nature of the mainstage
lineup, which begins with Lady Day
at Emerson’s Bar and Grill by Lanie
Robertson (Oct. 5-29).
“In telling about the late singer
Billie Holiday — with 12 of her songs
performed in the 90-minute produc-
tion — we present a cautionary tale
about life,” Bremer explains. “There
are monologues that tell about her
struggles facing racism and drugs,
and we are thrilled that internation-
ally acclaimed pianist Alvin Waddles
will be music director and portray
Jimmy Powers, a character developed
to accompany the Billie Holiday char-
acter, the role of Lisa Lauren Smith.”
American Buffalo by David
Mamet comes next (Nov. 16-Dec. 12).
It delves into the lives of drifters plan-
ning a heist and enters into the expe-
rience of people living on the edge.
In Hard Love by Motti Lerner
(April 12- May 5), romance and mar-
riage are explored through two char-
acters with different attitudes, some
changing, toward faith and religious
observance.
The final play, Casa Valentina
by Harvey Fierstein (May 24-June
17) introduces members of a cross-
dressing group as they cope with
questions of identity and revelation
as there is a move to turn the resort
where they meet into a nonprofit.
“I’m very pleased to be directing
two of these plays [American Buffalo
and Hard Love] because I think
audiences will find all of them very
compelling,” Bremer says. “The play-
wrights represented this season have
had great acclaim through a number
of productions.”
Sturman, who has been active
with JET behind the scenes for many
years, wants audiences to watch the
productions with opportunities that
go beyond entertainment.
“We present each show to make
our community understand ways of
impacting others in positive ways,”
she says. “With these contemporary
subjects, the productions challenge
our audiences to explore different
ways of thinking.” •
details
The JET season kicks off with a dinner-comedy gala 6-9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18,
at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield. Ticket prices are $180 for dinner and entertain-
ment starting at 6 p.m.; $65 for entertainment and dessert starting at 7:15 p.m.;
and $35 for anyone under age 35 for dinner and entertainment.
(248) 788-2900; jettheatre.org.