OCTOBER 26 • 2023 | 51
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have created a welcoming 
environment, and the cast 
creates a very comfortable 
mood. 
“I think a lot of acting has 
come very naturally to me 
because you can really use 
empathy to build another 
person,” Gittleman said. “If 
you take what you know 
about the core ways that 
you operate and put that 
into a person who has a 
completely different set of 
life experiences, I find that 
an intuitive process and 
really fun.”
With a theater degree 
from Wayne State 
University, Keller, 26, has 
had theater experiences 
at a variety of stages in 
the metropolitan area and 
has more lined up after 
he finishes the current 
production of A Chorus 
Line.
“I’m playing one of the 
dancers on the line,” said 
Keller, who attended Hillel 
programs while studying at 
Wayne. “I like Greg because 
he is really self-assured, 
funny, able to be part of all 
the great moments and has a 
good sense of release for all 
the cast. Greg is a guiding 
force throughout.
“A Chorus Line is 
an amazing piece of 

revolutionary art. What I 
love about being able to do 
it is seeing how it held up 
over the years. It still feels 
fresh and exciting. Besides 
combining all of its great 
elements, it puts a voice to 
people who we often forget 
when we watch musicals.” 
Keller, who performed in 
The Diary of Anne Frank 
for the discontinued Jewish 
Ensemble Theatre, works as 
a restaurant trainer while 
he lines up other stage 
experiences and hopes one 
day to teach the crafts of the 
stage.
Looking for more theater 
work is ever present for 
Keller. When he finishes 
with A Chorus Line, he 
will be in the play Jingle 
Babs for the Ringwald 
Theatre in Ferndale and 
later will be directing 
Eurydice by Sarah Rule 
for Etude Entertainment 
in collaboration with 
the Wayfaring Theatre 
Company in Detroit.
“I probably made the 
decision about being an 
actor sometime at L’Anse 
Creuse North High School,” 
Keller said. “I love working 
with other people and 
discovering what a play is. 
Being able to share it with 
people is exciting.” 

Details
A Chorus Line performances are set 7:30 p.m. Friday-
Saturday, Oct. 27-28, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, 
at the Berman Center for the Performing Arts in the 
Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. $35. 
nicelytheatregroup.org. (248) 406-6677.

PHOTOS BY BRIAN CRAIG

FACING PAGE: Nikita Krylov, Amina Dunn, 
Jack Randel, Cat Dacpano, Kevin Keller, Erin 
Johnson, Terri Manning, Toby Gittleman, Sara 
Grice, Maryanna Lauter, Kenyada Davis, Sam 
VanKampen, Mollie Cardella, Calleigh Wilson, 
David Roden, Cory Shorter and Olivia Quesada.
 

+248.352.8000 ext. 250

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