32 | OCTOBER 22 • 2020 

I

f you want to watch 
Michigan-raised Alexandra 
Silber perform musical 
numbers, turn to YouTube, but 
if you want to learn about her 
experiences on and off presti-
gious stages, turn to a digital 
program offered by the Society 
of Active Retirees (SOAR) — “
A 
Creative Life: Finding Meaning 
in Theater.
”
Silber, who also has written 
both a novel and memoir, 
invites viewers into her home 
at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, for an 
informal conversation.
“I’
ll take any questions and 

discuss the role of artists in the 
world — and, of course, our 
brand-new world — which I 
think is a very important part of 
interpreting life’
s meaning,
” said 
Silber, who lives in New York 
City. She has appeared with the 
Detroit Symphony Orchestra 
and for Cabaret 313.
“I’
m excited to present for 
SOAR and especially for [par-
ticipants] Elaine and Barry 
Yaker, who were friends of my 
deceased father, Michael,
” she 
said. “It feels like a way to con-
nect to a part of him I didn’
t 
know. 

“They were friends before I 
was born ... Even though I’
m an 
adult, I think there’
s a constant 
awe all children have of their 
parents as people before them.
”
Silber, 37, who grew up in 
Birmingham and graduated 
from Groves High School, 
had some stage training at the 
Jewish Community Center 
of Metropolitan Detroit and 
studied theater at Interlochen 
Center for the Arts. She earned 
a degree in acting from the 
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland 
in Glasgow, and her theater 
work includes Carousel on a 
London stage and Master Class 
on Broadway. 
Even amid the pandemic, 
she has managed live per-
formances while adhering to 
health guidelines — a Rodgers 
and Hammerstein summer 
concert for the Barrington 
Stage in Massachusetts and a 
wider musical program for the 
Kimberly Hotel in New York. 
“The hotel has balconies out-
side their rooms,
” she described 
as the setting. “They asked me 
to sing live on a balcony while 
people three stories below me 
ate dinner. 
“For the first time in many 
months, I could make music 
in New York City, and it was 
magical.
”
Silber has come to feel more 
comfortable with digital com-
mitments. She and her partner, 
Alec Silver, also a stage per-

former, are spending most of 
their work time teaching. She 
focuses on professional coach-
ing and mentoring.

CORE VALUES
“Hopefully, this SOAR pre-
sentation will reveal that I’
m 
a person who, in all areas of 
my life including my artistic 
self, endeavors to live by my 
core values, which are cour-
age, integrity and service,
” said 
Silber. “I try to do things that 
scare me or do the right thing 
when it’
s scary or challenging, 
which is how I define courage.
”
Silber has demonstrated her 
values with her book White Hot 
Grief Parade, which describes her 
experiences in coping with her 
father’
s death when she was 18. 
Her other book, After Anatevka, 
imagines what happens to 
Fiddler on the Roof characters 
after the end of the musical in 
which she has appeared.
Talking about getting through 
the difficulties brought about 
by the pandemic, Silber refers 
to some positive experiences — 
quiet intervals for reading and 
an appreciation of the outdoors. 
She’
s currently reading This 
Is Real and You Are Completely 
Unprepared: The Days of Awe as 
a Journey of Transformation by 
Rabbi Alan Lew.
The ideas implicit in cele-
brating Chanukah give Silber 
inspiration.
“Chanukah has been one of 
my favorite holidays for the 
metaphoric reason that it’
s 
based on the story of fuel run-
ning out,
” she explained. “I take 
it to mean that during the times 
in our lives that seem complete-
ly empty, when we don’
t feel we 
have any literal or spiritual fuel 
left, we can take a leap of faith 
and continue on for one more 
minute, hour or day. We discov-
er that the fuel is there.
” 

MICHAEL KUSHNER

ARTS&LIFE
MUSIC

DETAILS
Alexandra Silber will 
discuss “A Creative 
Life: Finding Meaning 
in Theater” at 1 p.m. 
Friday, Nov. 6. $10. 
For reservations, go to 
soarcontact@gmail.com 
or call (248) 626-0296.

Meet singer Alexandra Silber
in upcoming SOAR program.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Creative 
Discussion

Alexandra 

Silber

