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