APRIL 20 • 2023 | 49

that says we’re here to have 
fun.
”
Thomakos, who holds a 
bachelor’s in theater from Kent 
State University in Ohio and a 
master’s in theater from Wayne 
State University, has worked 
freelance and headed the Water 
Works Theatre Company (now 
Shakespeare Royal Oak). Most 
recently, he was in charge 
of stage instruction at the 
Louisiana School for Math, 
Science and the Arts. 
The cast he chose for Private 
Lives, which is about second 
marriages and second chances, 
includes Dennis Kleinsmith 
(Victor Prynne), Josef Sfair 
(Elyot Chase), Jeannine 
Thompson (Amanda Prynne), 
Arden Walker (Sybil Chase) 
and Leanne Young (Louise).
The inaugural production 
season, scheduled for more 
than a year, moves on to fea-
ture the following plays: John & 
Jen (July 7-23), Cadillac Crew 
(Sept. 29-Oct. 15), Tally’s Folley 
(Dec. 1-17), The (Curious Case 
of the) Watson Intelligence 
(April 5-21, 2024) and It’s Only 
Life (July 12-28, 2024).
Although Inspired is not a 
Jewish company, Thomakos 
said he is looking forward to 
presenting productions with 
Jewish themes and/or devel-
oped by Jewish creative teams 
for productions that run inter-
mittently.
“I absolutely plan on produc-
tions written by Jewish authors 
or covering Jewish themes,
” 
said Thomakos, a West 
Bloomfield resident who also is 
anticipating offering adult and 
young pople acting classes as 
supplemental to the mainstage 
offerings. 
“What’s important to me is 
that I’m telling stories from a 
wide variety of viewpoints. 
“My priority is finding sto-

ries that are well written and 
basically fun for the actors to 
act and fun for the audiences 
to watch. If they happen to be 
new scripts, awesome. We’re 
doing three Michigan pre-
mieres in our first season.
” 
John & Jen, the second 
production for instance, was 
presented in New York and 
has a Jewish creative writing 
team: Andrew Lippa, who 
grew up in Oak Park, and 
Tom Greenwald. It is a musical 
about a sister and brother and 
then about the sister and her 
son. It will star Equity actors.
Ironically, Thomakos recent-
ly learned he has 50 percent 
Jewish heritage in his back-
ground. His wife gave him an 
ancestry test, and he learned 
about his lineage. 
“I never knew my father, and 
I’m really interested in explor-
ing this part of me,
” he said. “I 
have relatives who are Jewish, 
and they’ve encouraged me to 
talk to a rabbi. I’m really eager 
to do that.
“I’m excited about learning 
about myself and this part of 
myself that is totally new to 
me. It’s interesting that this 
has happened at a time when 
I feel antisemitism is on the 
rise. It makes me more eager to 
explore my heritage.
”
Thomakos, who has been in 
the audience for JET produc-
tions, said that it is very rare in 
Michigan to find a theater set-
ting in place. He is grateful to 
JET for helping him with this 
fresh opportunity and plans 
on alternating classic plays and 
new writing. 
“If you’re a new play-
wright, send me a script,
” said 
Thomakos, who presents the-
ater classes on YouTube. “I ‘d 
love to read it. My priority is 
going to be the story, the char-
acters and the excitement.
” 

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