Gottlieb Festival of the Arts Begins Week of Star-Studded Performances

The Stephen Gottlieb Festival of the Arts, a week-long array of entertainment that includes music, theatre, film, art and Jewish culture, begins today at 8 p.m. with a preview performance of the 2011-12 season of the Michigan Opera Theatre (MOT) at the in West Bloomfield.

Hosted by the the festival runs through Sept. 25 with events at the JCC campuses in West Bloomfield and Oak Park.

“This is a real opportunity to bring the community together at the beginning of the (Jewish) new year and showcase what the JCC has to offer,” said Carol Weintraub Fogel, Chair of the JCC Arts, Culture and Education Steering Committee.

The opening night show includes performances of upcoming operas by members of the MOT and commentary by Artistic Director David DiChiera.

According to Fogel, the week-long festival offers enough diversity to appeal to audiences of varying ages and interests.

“Each performance could be a stand-alone event,” she said.

Some of the highlights include:

• Award-winning Broadway and television star Mandy Patinkin in his acclaimed show, MANDY PANTINKIN: Dress Casual, at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Berman Center. Patinkin will perform a selection of favorites by classic songwriters such as Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Stephen Sondheim.  
• A showing of The Hammersteins: A Musical Theatre Family, based on the book by Oscar Andrew Hammerstein, grandson of the famous composer of Broadway classics as The Sound of Music, Carousel and Oklahoma, Oscar Hammerstein. At 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20, Hammerstein will discuss how his family transcended its German-Jewish immigrant ancestry to become one of the most influential names in theatre history.
• A showing of Anita, an Argentinean Academy Award-winning film about a young Jewish woman with Down syndrome who is accidentally separated from her mother. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Berman Center.
• Comedian, actor, educator, and author Marcus Freed stars in two one-man shows at the Berman Center: Solomon: King, Poet and Lover, the Story of One Man and 700 Wives at 8:30 pm Sept. 24, and Elijah: First Action Hero at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25. These biblically-based comedies are described as “absolutely hysterical” by JCC Arts Culture, and Education Program Director Heidi Budaj.   

Other events include Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev performed by the Ann Arbor Symphony Woodwind Quintet at 2 p.m. Sunday at the JCC in Oak Park, a performance by the Vesna Intergenerational Choir and the New Festival Dancers 2 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Berman Center, and Yoga for the Body and Soul: The Kosher Sutras with Marcus Freed at 11 a.m. Sept. 25 in the Fitness Center Yoga Studio at the West Bloomfield JCC.

“Each year, the festival gets bigger and better,” said Fogel.

The Stephen Gottlieb Festival of the Arts is presented as a partner of the Kindness Project, co-sponsored by Partners in Torah. Events are held at the West Bloomfield JCC, at 6600 W. Maple Road, and the JCC’s Oak Park campus, at 15110 W. 10 Mile Road. For more information or to obtain a complete schedule, visit www.jccdet.org or call (248) 661-1000.