DECEMBER 5 • 2024 | 51
attended with a Jewish boyfriend
in New York, has worked with
Lewis for 15 years. Their stage
projects have included those for the
discontinued Performance Network.
Both have extensive theater careers,
and Lewis has been involved with
musical programs in New York and
Washington, D.C.
Founding artistic director of
Theatre NOVA, Milarch has had a
lengthy stage career and has brought
some 25 new plays to audiences.
She founded the Michigan Equity
Theatre Alliance after studies at
the Interlochen Arts Academy and
SUNY (State University of New
York) Purchase.
Milarch worked as an actress
and behind the scenes in and out
of Michigan. Her awards include
being noted for “Outstanding
Contributions to an Ensemble” by
the Detroit Free Press.
Lewis, who earned bachelor
and master’s degrees from Eastern
Michigan University, remains
associated with Eastern programs
and wrote the music for all the
original songs.
Besides being associated with The
Encore, which is known for bringing
musical theater programs to schools,
he has been musical director for
Gypsy at the Hangar Theatre in New
York state and composed music
for performances at the Kennedy
Center in Washington, D.C.
“There’s a lot of tying into Judah
the Maccabee, and we do a lot of
fun stuff,” Milarch said. “Kids come
up, and we teach them how to play
the dreidel game. There’s candy. We
have a lot of silliness, tons of music
and tons of fun.”
Milarch has directed more serious
plays with Jewish characters and/
or plots. They include My Name Is
Asher Lev, Fortune and one about
Albert Einstein.
“The themes of resistance and
standing up for your identity
mean a lot to me,” Milarch said.
“We decided to do this show again
because Chanukah is late this year,
and we can lead up to it as we get
into the time when the show closes.
“We had planned to do this before
the local bout of antisemitism, and
then we thought if there’s a good
time to stand up to antisemitism,
now is that time.”
As time passes along this theater
season, the 10th, the other new
shows include Kairos (Feb.14-March
16), Eclipsed: The Sun, the Moon
and Gladys Atkinson Sweet (April
11-May 11), Jorge Luis Borges Gives
a Lecture on Anatomy (June 6-July
6), Radical Empathy (Aug.1-31) and
Michigan Playwrights Festival (Sept.
10-14).
Scenes from a
former show
Details
The Elves and the Schumachers Two: Chanukah Boogaloo
is being performed Dec. 6-Jan. 5 at Theatre NOVA, 410 W.
Huron, Ann Arbor. Times are 7:30 p.m. Fridays, 3 and 7:30
p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. $32 adults; $12 for
those 16 and younger. Theatre NOVA.org.
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