JANUARY 14 • 2021 | 33

W

hen Ruby Schwartz 
was beginning 
her senior year at 
Groves High School, she began 
thinking about becoming a col-
lege freshman in 2020. Besides 
looking ahead to chemistry and 
marketing classes, Schwartz 
wanted to participate in extra-
curricular activities, particularly 
theater productions.
Schwartz had expressed 
theater interests for two years 
as part of the stage crew of the 
Groves performing arts pro-
gram and was inducted into the 
International Thespian Society.
After the pandemic hit, 
Schwartz, 18, adjusted to the 

ever-present digital world while 
based at her family home in 
Birmingham. She has been able 
to take remote classes at DePaul 
University in Chicago, and she 
also has found a way to connect 
with theater.
Schwartz has accepted part-
time assignments in marketing 
Disenchanted!, the next pro-
duction of the professional, 
nonprofit, locally-based Nicely 
Theatre Group. She is doing 
TikTok postings to call atten-
tion to the musical revue that 
portrays fairy tale heroines 
reimagined with human flaws 
emphasized.
“This is my first market-

ing job, and it’s expanded my 
knowledge,
” said Schwartz, 
who is featuring snippets of 
cast members promoting the 
production running Jan. 15-29. 
“They’re hoping I can help 
attract younger audiences to 
their performances.
“This production has not 
been made in Zoom style 
with people in different loca-

tions. Instead, it was filmed at 
the Berman [Center for the 
Performing Arts at the Jewish 
Community Center]. Social 
distancing protocols were 
observed for both cast and 
crew.
”
The snippets can be viewed 
on the TikTok app with the the-
ater company name as the user-
name. The musical falls in line 
with what was first presented as 
an off-Broadway show written 
by Dennis Giacino.

NICELY’S ROOTS
Nicely was started last sum-
mer by David Carroll, of West 
Bloomfield, as he entered 
retirement after a career in the 
financial services industry. A 
longtime theater fan, he got 
the idea for a new company 
after winning a role in a pro-
duction of Guys and Dolls, his 
favorite show, for the Village 
Players of Birmingham. 
Nicely-Nicely Johnson was his 
favorite character.
“Maybe I’ll be like director 
Alfred Hitchcock, making brief 
appearances in productions,
” 
joked Carroll, who personally 
financed the company’s first 
project, a selection of short 
plays
 Among the portrayed charac-
ters now introduced with star-

tling outlooks are Cinderella, 
Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, 
Belle, the Little Mermaid, 
Mulan, Pocahontas and the 
Princess Who Kissed the Frog. 
Actors have been directed by 
Mitch Master, whose stage 
experience has included work 
as director of performing and 
visual arts at Frankel Jewish 
Academy and co-director of 

Roeper Summer Stock Theatre. 
He has performed in 50 pro-
ductions. 
Eric W
. Maher, Nicely tech-
nical director, worked on the 
TikTok presentations.
“Working on the Nicely 
marketing has made isolation 
better,
” said Schwartz, who has 
been active with Aish HaTorah. 
“
Adjusting was so difficult at 
first. I had been going to live 
shows, and I miss that. Working 
with Nicely helps make up for 
those experiences.
”
Planning and participating 
in another digital platform also 
has helped Schwartz connect 
through this time of confine-
ment. She and friend Ari Tiles 
created the podcast “yes. it’s us 
again.
” 
“We explore what can be 
going on in teenagers’ minds,
” 
Schwartz explained. “We want 
it to be very real and authentic. 
We’ve talked about bullying and 
mental health.
”
Keeping true to her market-
ing orientation, Schwartz alerts 
prospective viewers that tickets 
for Disenchanted! ($15) are avail-
able at nicelytheatre.org. The 
family-friendly production runs 
65 minutes. Ticket holders can 
watch the presentation as many 
times as they wish during the 
two-week run. 

Recent high school grad helps 
market Disenchanted!, the Nicely 
Theatre Group’s next production.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Enchanted 
by Theater

ARTS&LIFE
THEATER

NICELY

“THEY’RE HOPING I CAN HELP 

ATTRACT YOUNGER AUDIENCES.”

— RUBY SCHWARTZ

Ruby Schwartz