OCTOBER 27 • 2022 | 57
Dearborn and in 2011 for the
Two Muses Theatre in West
Bloomfield.
Smith Yolles, who lives in
Bingham Farms, acted while
attending Southfield-Lathrup
High School but skipped theater
as a student at the University of
Michigan. With a full load of
courses and job responsibilities,
she had no time for the stage.
After college, she found time
for theater, and her roles have
included Miep in The Diary
of Anne Frank for the Jewish
Ensemble Theatre (JET),
Annelle in Steel Magnolias and
Columbia in The Rocky Horror
Picture Show for St. Dunstan’s
Theatre Guild.
A favorite role has been
Virginia in Do Black Patent
Leather Shoes Really Reflect
Up? for the Players Guild of
Dearborn. That role brought
a local award as Best Featured
Actress in a Musical.
One of the funniest experi-
ences Smith Yolles has had while
acting involved a cardboard tele-
vision about to lose its place in
a Ridgedale play about 25 years
ago. She had to brace herself
against the set to look like the
TV was staying up.
While Smith Yolles explains
her talents are not in serious
singing, she works with medical
coaches at Henry Ford Health
to keep her vocal cords in good
condition. Along with taking
dancing and acting lessons, she
works with the app LineLearner
to memorize scripts.
“When I’m not working, I’m
often attending theater,
” said
Smith Yolles, who goes to ser-
vices at Temple Israel and is a
life member of Hadassah and
the National Council of Jewish
Women, Michigan Region.
“I love the camaraderie of
creating something together,
performing with great people in
a cast and crew and having the
ability to develop special friend-
ships that are lifelong.
“I love performing on stage
and hearing the response of an
audience, especially in a come-
dy. I just enjoy creating different
roles. It’s very challenging and
rewarding.
”
Details
Two versions of The Odd Couple will be performed Nov.
4-20 by the Ridgedale Players, 205 W. Long Lake Road,
Troy. $16-$18.
Female version tickets: 8 p.m. Nov. 4, 12, 18; 2 p.m.
Nov. 5, 13, 19 at https://ci.ovationtix.com/35604/produc-
tion/1126144. Male version tickets: 8 p.m. Nov. 5, 11, 19; 2
p.m. Nov. 6, 12, 20 at https://ci.ovationtix.com/35604/
production/1126145.
Ridgedaleplayers.com. (248) 988-7049.
From left, Julie Smith Yolles, Alisa Martin, Brooklyn Nicole, Alison
Boggs and Cherie Wyatt Rolfe play Trivial Pursuit on Friday nights
in the female version of The Odd Couple.
AUTHOR VISIT
Celebrated
Author Coming
to Congregation
Shaarey Zedek
Dr. Dara Horn, author of People Love
Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted
Present, will be scholar-in residence.
JN STAFF
D
r. Dara Horn, a celebrated
novelist who earned a Ph.D.
at Harvard in Yiddish,
Hebrew and English literature,
will be coming to Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield for a
series of events Nov. 4-5.
On Friday, Nov. 4, CSZ will be
hosting a Shabbat dinner and
evening lecture from Horn on
her book, People Love Dead
Jews: Reports from a Haunted
Present. The book is a series of
essays that focus on the eva-
sions we use to avoid recog-
nizing antisemitism. The collection
earns its shocking title. Each essay focuses on differ-
ent circumstances, but in all the circum-
stances, we have trouble noticing hatred
against Jews and find uplifting lessons we
can learn from the murder of Jews.
A T.G.I.S. (Thank God It’s Shabbat) ser-
vice begins at 6 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m.
dinner. Horn’s lecture begins at 7:45 p.m.
Cost for members is $30; 35 for nonmem-
bers. To Zoom the Friday Night Lecture,
pre-registration is required.
On Shabbat morning Saturday, Nov.
5, Dara Horn offers the D’var Torah: Lekh-Lekha: Turning
Antisemitism Inside-Out. She’ll also lead a Shabbat afternoon
lecture/discussion following lunch at about 1 p.m. titled “Uses
and Misuses of Dead Jews: What I saw in my Holocaust-
education journey across America, how it started, how it’s going,
and what we need to re-imagine.” The lecture will also be shared
via Zoom.
The weekend is sponsored by the Morris and Beverly Baker
Foundation. To register and purchase tickets for the dinner, visit
https://tinyurl.com/5rzb8c4m.
Dara Horn