66 | OCTOBER 13 • 2022 

I

saac Vineburg performed in nine high 
school plays while growing up in Green 
Bay, Wis., but he counted the next 10 
years as being away from the dramatic stage. 
College and the career opportunities that 
followed brought lots of responsibilities that 
interrupted his acting commitments.
Now moved to Michigan, Vineburg 
recently succumbed to a whim and audi-
tioned for a part in an upcoming spooky 
comic production by St. Dunstan’s Theatre 
Guild of Cranbrook to celebrate Halloween, 
and he’s so glad he tried out and won a role. 
Vineburg has been cast as Vincent Usher 
in the production Playhouse on Haunted Hill, 
which runs Oct. 14-22 in the company’s 
indoor pavilion. On the final night of the 
play, there will be a costume contest with 
prizes set for audience members who attend 
all dressed up in the mood of the holiday. 
“The contest is very cool,
” said Vineburg 
of Farmington Hills, who is enthusiastic 
about St. Dunstan’s plans. “This play is 
based on an old Vincent Price film, House on 
Haunted Hill. 
“It’s based on a neat old horror film I 
feel like people today would think is really 
cliché movie stuff, but it became cliché stuff 
because Vincent Price did all these [stories] 
and did them first. 
“
Although the play is not expressly about 
Halloween, there are some Halloween 
themes, along with Edgar Allan Poe poetry. 
It’s about a haunted playhouse so the char-
acters spend a night there trying to talk to 

the ghosts and discover clues to mysterious 
disappearances that take place.
”
Vineburg’s character is a billionaire invit-
ing a group to a house party for his wife. 
That’s how the story gets started and runs 90 
minutes without intermission.
The play is written and directed by Jake 
Zinke of West Bloomfield, who has worked 
with the company since 2011 and written 
other plays. Meg Berger of Huntington 
Woods is co-director. Cast members include 
Kori Bielaniec of Westland as Ligeia, Bill 
Carr of Southfield as the Caretaker and 
Rocky Dsouza of Troy as Truman Caboddy.
“I’ve always loved theater, but in college, 
I didn’t have the opportunity to do it,
” said 
Vineburg, 27, the son of a rabbi, Sidney 

Vineburg, whose post-retirement years have 
involved serving as a remote educator for 
Grand Canyon University. 
While Vineburg could not make time 
for theater while attending college, he did 
give his performance interests an outlet by 
competing for ComedySportz, an improv 
organization in nearly 30 cities across the 
United States. In each audience session, two 
comic teams compete for laughs and votes 
as decided by an audience. 
Between the times Vineburg worked 
on two degrees, he lived with his parents, 
who had moved to Oak Park to be close to 
another son’s family. The younger Vineburg 
earned a bachelor’s degree in digital media 
and a master’s degree in digital communi-
cation strategies at Marquette University in 
Milwaukee. 
After college, Vineburg decided to join 
the Michigan-located relatives. His first 
job was at the Zekelman Holocaust Center 
in Farmington Hills, where he worked on 
communications and digital advertising. He 
currently is employed by the University of 
Michigan School of Public Health, where he 
specializes in marketing and advertising. 
Also while living in Michigan, Vineburg 
met his wife, the former Lexie Sittsamer. She 
teaches at Adat Shalom Synagogue, where 
the couple participate in various religious 
activities. They also are active with other 
local Jewish groups, including The Well. 
“We’re hoping to go with The Well on 
a trip to Germany,
” Vicksburg said. “Last 
year, I was on a film festival committee for 
NEXTGen.
”
Back with theater, Vineburg expresses an 
emotional connection.
“I really love sharing an emotion with 
someone else and find theater to be a 
cathartic experience,
” he said. “My wife and 
I recently went to a performance of Rent 
at Wayne State University, and I felt it was 
relatable. I think it’s powerful how theater 
can tell us a lot about ourselves. It can help 
us heal and laugh and mourn.
” 

COURTESY OF ST. DUNSTAN’S

Details
Playhouse on Haunted Hill runs at 8 p.m. 
(except for Sunday, Oct. 16, performance 
at 2 p.m.) Oct. 14, 15, 20,21, 22 at St. 
Dunstan’s Playhouse, 400 Lone Pine Road, 
between Woodward and Lahser, Bloomfield 
Hills. $18-$20. 1-844 -DUNSTAN. Tickets@
StDunstansTheatre.com.

Isaac Vineburg performs in St. Dunstan’s 
production of Playhouse on Haunted Hill.
Spooky Fun

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ARTS&LIFE
THEATER

Kori Bielaniec as Ligeia and Isaac Vineburg as 
Vincent Usher in Playhouse on Haunted Hill. 
TOP: The cast of Playhouse on Haunted Hill.

