26 June 6 • 2019
jn

A 

new home and a new home 
away from home will be part 
of the Grand Opening celebra-
tion as the Jewish Ensemble Theatre 
(JET) begins its 30th season Monday 
evening, June 10, with a strolling din-
ner and presentation of this year’
s first 
main-stage play. 
The new home is at 1124 E. Maple, 
just east of Pontiac Trail, in Walled 
Lake, where a three-year lease has 
allowed the transformation of a vacat-
ed bank into a space with movable 
structures so stage and seating can 
allow for diverse audience experiences. 
 
The new home away from home 
is in Arizona, where plans are in the 
works to bring the JET production of 
The Diary of Anne Frank to middle 
school students on a continuing basis.
“We are very excited to have our 
grand opening with a production 
of Neil Simon’
s The Odd Couple, 
my favorite Neil Simon comedy,” 
says Christopher Bremer, executive 
director, who also is pleased Annabel 
Cohen is catering the event. 
“We wanted to honor this 
high-powered Jewish playwright who 
passed away last year, and we want-
ed to launch our new theater with a 

light-hearted play that we’
ve never 
done before.”
After the opening night celebra-
tion, the regular schedule of The Odd 
Couple runs June 14-July 14, featuring 
a cast that includes Greg Trzaskoma, 
Fred Buchalter, Wendy Katz Hiller, 
Meredith Deighton, Todd St. George, 
Charles Van Hoose, Alex Macksoud 
and David Gram under the direction 
of Mary Bremer. 
Because the interior of the new 
space was not expected to be ready 
until May 31, rehearsals have 
been taking place at Henry Ford 
Community College in Dearborn. 
Construction has been delayed a bit 
but will not change plans for the June 
10 celebration. 
“Those attending our first play will 
be seated in chairs borrowed from 
Monster Box Theatre in Waterford 
as we wait for the new ones,” Bremer 
says. “The marquee also will not be 
finished in time for the opening, but 
we have a big, temporary sign wel-
coming our theatergoers.”
Stuart Fine was the architect who 
worked closely with JET to develop 
the new site. 
“I’
ve met with the contractors to 

make sure the space turned out the 
way the people at JET wanted it to 
be,” says Fine, a theater fan who has 
worked on educational auditoriums. 
Fine had to make sure the staging 
and seating would be flexible while 
paying special attention to the lighting. 
The walls, carpeting and chairs will be 
in dark tones to keep the attention on 
the performers as the stage lights up. 
Depending on the production, seat-
ing can be arranged in three config-
urations — in a traditional plan with 
the entire audience facing the stage, in 
a way that winds the audience around 
three sides of the stage and in an 
immersive form that puts the audience 
in the middle of the action.
“We will have platforms and risers 
to add to our flexibility,” says Bremer, 
who is also arranging for a concession 
stand. “We can accommodate 100 
people regardless of the setup.” 
Contributions of about $150,000 
went into financing the move and the 
new lease with a three-year option 
after that as the fundraising continues. 
 The three plays filling the rest of 
the season include Ain’
t Misbehavin’
 
by Luther Henderson, Richard 
Maltby Jr. and Murray Horwitz (Aug. 

theater
arts&life

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
PHOTOS BY AJ HOWELL 

JET Board Chair Elaine Sturman and Mendy Cohen of the 

Milton Roberts Construction Company inside the new 

space during construction. TOP: A temporary sign wel-

comes all to JET’
s new home in Walled Lake. 

A New Home

JET opens its season with a celebration and Neil Simon’
s The Odd Couple.

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