 DECEMBER 17 • 2020 | 49

plays I wrote, including Change 
of Life and The Day We Met.
“Evie had enormous faith in 
me as a playwright when I was 
just starting out. Her faith in 
me made me believe in myself, 
and I will be forever grateful to 
her for that. She was a dyna-
mo who could make things 
happen, a can-do person who, 
in spite of what the obstacles 
were, always plowed ahead.
” 
Henrietta Hermelin 
Weinberg and Mary Lou 
Zieve (a continuing board 
member) got to know Orbach 
through associations with 
Michigan theater companies 
and broadcast programming. 
They were glad to offer their 
artistic suggestions and busi-
ness introductions to establish 
JET and remained impressed 
by Orbach’s perseverance — 
both artistically and in seeking 
out private donors and public 
grant providers, first to launch 
and later to supplement ticket 
prices.
“Evelyn had tenacity and 
vision,
” said Weinberg, who 
had worked in New York 
before moving back to her 
hometown and starring in JET 
plays as well as other local pro-
ductions. “She had a vision for 
the arts in the Jewish commu-
nity and sometimes could be 
overwhelming. She got ahold 
of something and didn’t let go.
”

A MENTOR TO OTHERS
Orbach’s personality motivated 
young performers chosen to 
showcase their talents. One 
was Jaime Ray Newman, 
whose early acting experience 
at JET helped prepare her for 
work that went beyond theater 
and into television and film. 
She won an Oscar in 2019 for 
producing the Best Live Action 
Short Film.
“Evie was a powerhouse 
teacher, producer and direc-
tor, and I credit her for giving 
me my first acting job at age 
12 in JET’s second-ever play,
” 

Newman emailed from her 
California home. “She believed 
in me as a young girl and 
proved that a career in the arts 
was 100 percent possible.
“My love of the theater and 
the life I’ve committed myself 
to is in large part due to Evie’s 
infectious rapture with the 
stage. I will remember her 
always. The Detroit [area] is 
a better [place] for having her 
talents shine there.
” 
Daniel Kahn, who appeared 
with Newman in the plays A 
Rosen by Any Other Name by 
Israel Horovitz and First Is 
Supper by Shelley Berman, went 
on to build an international 
career with his Painted Bird 
music group. He was cast in 
the Yiddish version of Fiddler 
on the Roof staged in New York.
“There are few people in my 
life who have had as profound 
an impact on me as Evie,
” 
Kahn wrote from Germany. 
“When I was 11, she saw me 
recite a poem at Temple Israel 
and asked me to audition at 
JET.
“For the first time, I found 
myself working under Evie’s 
caring direction and alongside 
professional actors. That expe-
rience and the relationships 
that grew from it completely 
changed my life’s trajectory. 
“I gained a community of 
creative mentors, free spirits, 
wise artists, thoughtful crafts-
people, working humanists and 
cultural warriors who continue 
to inspire me. I owe it all to 
Evie.
”
Also grateful to Orbach 
is Christopher Bremer, JET 
executive director who was 
hired by Orbach for tempo-
rary responsibilities and later 
promoted. He anticipates an 
in-person memorial once the 
pandemic has been defeated 
and programming named in 
her honor.
“I met Evie on a Greek 
island, where she had come 
to do a play with artists and 

actors from all over the United 
States,
” Bremer recalled. “She 
played a role in the chorus of a 
Greek tragedy.
“I started working at JET 
about a year later, and virtually 
every day, I think about the 
things I learned from her. She 
had respect for everybody and 
showed no fear. Evelyn taught 
me to have ambition, determi-
nation and courage. 
“She chose plays with the 
guiding philosophy that evil 
should not win. She was a pro’s 
pro and championed the JET 
mission statement of produc-
ing theater according to the 
highest professional standards. 
This will always be the guiding 
principle of the institution she 
founded.
”
Beyond the romance of 
captivating audiences during 
her active years in theater into 
2009, Orbach’s retirement 
years brought some unstaged 
romance. On a cruise, she met 
Melvin Dalbow, who, at 90, 
converted to Judaism in honor 
of their marriage.
“Mel saw her on that cruise 
and asked her to dance,
” 
Lazarus said. “They danced for 
three years.
”
Evelyn Orbach is sur-
vived by four children and 
their spouses, Richard 
(Leda Meredith) Orbach, 
Sharon (Howard) Quarters, 
Judy (Paul) Chamberlin 
and Lila (Ed Fernandez) 
Lazarus; nine grandchildren; 
four-great-grandchildren; and 
sister Anita Blank.
Interment was at Beth El 
Memorial Park. Contributions 
may be made to the 
Alzheimer's Association-
Greater Michigan Chapter, 
25200 Telegraph Road, Suite 
100, Southfield, MI 48033, 
(248) 351-0280, http://www.
alz.org/gmc; or JET Theatre, 
1124 E. West Maple Road, 
Walled Lake, MI 48390, (248) 
788-2900. Arrangements by Ira 
Kaufman Chapel. 

MICHAEL 
LIPSHAW, 63, of 
Roseville, died Nov. 
26, 2020. 
He was an alum-
nus of Oakland 
University and a graduate of the 
University of California, Santa 
Cruz.
He is survived by his brother 
and sister-in-law, Jeffrey and 
Alene Lipshaw; sister and broth-
er-in-law, Leslie and Robert 
Hawring; nieces and nephews, 
Arielle Lipshaw Latour and 
Jeremy Latour, Matthew Lipshaw 
and Kiti Ho, James Lipshaw 
and Lauren Zawanda, Stephen 
Hawring, and Scott Hawring; 
great-niece and great-nephew, 
Harper Lipshaw and Calvin 
Latour. 
Mr. Lipshaw was the devot-
ed son of the late Harold M. 
Lipshaw and the late Renata 
(Gruenebaum) Freed; the lov-
ing brother of the late Pamela 
Lipshaw. 
Contributions may be 
made to Kadima, 15999 W
. 12 
Mile, Southfield, MI 48076, kad-
imacenter.org; or Michigan 
Animal Rescue League, 790 
Featherstone, Pontiac, MI 
48342, marleague.org/donate/
donate-now. Arrangements by 
Ira Kaufman Chapel.

IRVING 
MENDELSON, 92, 
of West Bloomfield, 
died Dec. 3, 2020. 
He is survived 
by his sons and 
daughters-in-law, David and 
Barbara Mendelson, and Marc 
and Lisa Mendelson; grand-
children, Jason and Rebecca 
Weiner, Adam and Ashley 
Weiner, Rachael Mendelson, 
Jaclyn Mendelson, Melissa 
Mendelson, Kari Broder, Dayna 
Broder; Amelia Mendelson, Isla 
Mendelson, Auguste Mendelson; 
great-grandchildren, Ronen 

continued on page 50

continued from page 47

