Eight Nights follows the journey of Rebecca Blum, a Holocaust survivor who arrives in the United States in December of 1949. Set during the eight nights of Hanukkah, we travel with her as she builds a family and a diverse community of loved ones—always moving forward—daring only to touch the past for those she loves the most. Jennifer Maisel’s award-winning, lyrical play illuminates brutal cycles of oppression and erasure across time amongst Jewish, African American, Japanese American, and recent Middle Eastern refugee communities. Her powerful story simultaneously celebrates the resilience of the human spirit—continually striving for connection and seeking the very best of humanity even in the worst of times.
Eight Nights
Set during the eight nights of Hanukkah, we travel with her as she builds a family and a diverse community of loved ones—always moving forward—daring only to touch the past for those she loves the most.
This modern classic by celebrated native Detroit playwright Pearl Cleage
has profound relevance to our current times even as it is set during
the Harlem Renaissance on the cusp of the Great Depression.
Meet The Cast
Rivka Borek
Rebecca Blum
Younger Rebecca, Amy, Nina
Rivka is honored to be at DPT working on this play with this company. She was most recently seen in Indecent at San Francisco Playhouse. Other credit highlights include: American Conservatory Theater, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alabama Shakespeare, The O’Neill, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Ars Nova, Clubbed Thumb, Hudson Valley Shakespeare (tour) and the Edinburgh Fringe. MFA: ACT.
Eric Gutman
Erich Blum
Eric is thrilled to be returning to Detroit Public Theatre after the nearly sold-out runs of both his one-man show, “From Broadway to Obscurity” (2016 Wilde Award, Best One Person Show) and “Murder Ballad”. Eric has previously performed in “Hedwig…” on guitars and bass with Breathe Art Theatre Project and The Ringwald Theatre (also as MD). When not in Detroit, Eric tours with Under the Streetlamp, a retro rock and roll experience celebrating music from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and beyond. Broadway/National Tours: Jersey Boys; Off-Broadway: Forbidden Broadway, Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding. Thank you to Courtney, Sarah and Sarah Clare for continuing to collaborate with me in so many ways and for bringing relevant and important art to the city. My involvement in this show is dedicated to my wife, who would never allow me turn down an opportunity to play this amazing show. IG: @theguter or @underthestreetlamp
Michael Lopetrone
Aaron
Michael is thrilled to be making his DPT debut! A graduate of Western Michigan University with a BA in Theatre Performance, he’s performed on stages across Metro Detroit and abroad. Recent credits include: The Glass Menagerie (Flint Repertory Theatre), The House On Poe Street (Detroit Repertory Theatre), and Silent Sky (Williamston Theatre). This summer, he can be seen in Tipping Point Theatre’s production of Anatomy Of A Hug. While not on stage, Michael has been a teaching artist at Matrix Theatre, done educational theatre work with University of Michigan, MSU, Henry Ford Hospital, and also designs websites and consults on digital marketing through his business, Milo Media. www.michaellopetrone.com
Henrí Franklin
Benjamin
HENRÍ FRANKLIN is an award winning SAG-AFTRA actor based out of Detroit, MI. After obtaining his Bachelors Degree from Wayne State Universityʼs Theater Program, he went on to work professionally in the fields of stage, film, television, commercials and voice over. Some of his notable career accomplishments include Days of Our Lives and Chicago P.D. on NBC, Detroiters on Comedy Central, Low Winter Sun on AMC, Batman Vs Superman for Warner Bros., commercial and voice work for Ford, Chevrolet, G.U.M., T. Rowe Price and many others plus productions of Dominique Morisseauʼs Pipeline, Detroit’ 67 and Paradise Blue. You can see him as Ahmed in Richard Wesley’s Black Terror (produced by Tina Knowles – Lawson and directed by Richard Lawson) coming soon. Henrí is honored to have been able to work with Detroit Public Theatre for several years now and looks forward to continuing to do work that continues to change people’s lives for the better! You can follow his journey at www.henrifranklin.com and @henrifranklin on social media platforms.
Sarah Winkler
Anna Blum
Sarah Winkler is a Co-Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Detroit Public Theatre. She was a company member with Off Broadway’s Epic Theatre Ensemble for more than a decade before moving to Metro Detroit in 2013. Sarah has performed on stage and film in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and around the country, and is now so proud and honored to be a part of the Detroit theatre community.
Janai Lashon
Arlene, Lacey
Janai Lashon (she/her) is an artivist (artist and activist) from Kalamazoo, MI making her acting debut here at Detroit Public Theatre. She truly enjoys telling stories and creating artistry especially when Black experiences are centered and celebrated. Janai is a proud alumni of Western Michigan University’s BA Theatre Performance program (2010) and Ohio University’s MFA Acting program (2021). Her recent stage credits include Fairview as (JASMINE) produced at Detroit Repertory Theatre , Mrs. Harrison as (AISHA) at Williamston Theatre, and her last performance at Tipping Point Theatre’s World Premiere of Tracy Spada’s Game. Set Match (ENSEMBLE).
Additional acting credits consist of Chain as ROSA, Holly Down In Heaven (Mia), Ruined as (SELMA), As You Like It (PHOEBE), Stick Fly as (TAYLOR), Detroit ’67 ( BONITA), Rhinoceros as (DAISY) . Please continue to follow and support Janai’s on Instagram @jlashon. Next show: Joe Turner at Detroit Rep as Molly Cunningham.
Kurt Kanazawa
Steven, Inge
Kurt Kanazawa (he/him) is an actor, opera singer, and writer based in Los Angeles. He most recently starred in No No Girl alongside Academy Award winner Chris Tashima, as well as Amazon Studio’s Bosch: Legacy opposite Madison Lintz and Denise G. Sanchez and Grey’s Anatomy. He is a Juilliard graduate opera singer fluent in Italian, French, and Japanese, and his many award-winning audiobook, voiceover, & P-cap titles include Tribeca Festival world premiere A Life in Pieces: The Diary & Letters of Stanley Hayami, National Book Award finalist We Are Not Free, #1 New York Times bestseller To Paradise, and bestseller If I See You Again Tomorrow. Thank you to Phinny, Jeanne, Tramayne, Detroit Public Theatre, and my family and friends who keep me going. EDUCATION: The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Columbia University. REGIONAL: IAMA Theatre + LA LGBT Center, Boston Court, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Artists at Play, LATW, EST/LA, East West Players, Japanese American National Museum, Lincoln Center @ Alice Tully Hall, The Industry LA, Chautauqua Institution. INTERNATIONAL: Edinburgh Fringe, NCPA-Beijing, Teatro Colón-Buenos Aires. @kurtkanazawa | www.kurtkanazawa.com
Meet The Creative Team
Marya Mazor
Director
Marya Mazor is a Los Angeles based director of theatre, film, and immersive experiences. Her stage productions have received multiple Los Angeles Times Critic’s Pick designations, Ovation and Stage Raw Awards; her 2020 production of Fun Home won the Ovation Award for Best Production of a Musical and the Orange County Theatre Guild Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical. She has directed for New York Stage & Film Company, The Alley Theatre, Geva Theatre, The Geffen Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, Berkeley Repertory Theater, The Long Wharf Theater, and many other venues. She was honored as a National Endowment for the Arts TCG Fellow and an AFI DWW fellow. She directed the digital series, Sophie in Hollywood, now airing on Asian American Movies. Her AFI Directing Workshop for Women film was lauded at festivals worldwide including ComiCon. She also directed the Broadway scale Aladdin for Disney Cruise Lines. Mazor was co-founding Artistic Director of Voice & Vision, a theater developing the voices of women and girls, in NYC; she ran that company for ten years. She holds an MFA from Yale and has taught theatre and film at Chapman University, University of California Irvine and elsewhere. She is grateful to be a part of the Detroit Public Theatre community and honored to collaborate on this play.
Sarah Pearline
Scenic Design
Sarah Pearline (Scenic Designer) is an Associate Professor in the Theatre and Dance Department at Wayne State University in Detroit. Previous work includes set and projection design for Circus Flora, St. Louis Symphony, Experimental Theatre Wing, Titan Theatre Company, Prospect Theatre Company, SoHo Think Tank, Nickelodeon Networks, and NY Stage and Film. Locally, she has had a wonderful time working with The Purple Rose Theatre, Hope Summer Rep, Carrie Morris Arts Production and PuppetArt Theatre, Satori Circus and the DIA. Sarah is thrilled to be designing scenery for Eight Nights and grateful to collaborate with everyone here at Detroit Public Theatre!
Matt Taylor
Lighting Design
Matt Taylor is a professional lighting designer for live entertainment and professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI where he leads the MFA program in Lighting Design for Theatre and Dance. He’s thrilled to join the team at Detroit Public Theatre to create the world of Eight Nights with this wonderful creative team. His professional work covers a wide range of genres and styles of live entertainment from concerts and cruise ships to traditional theatre and dance productions. He has worked extensively in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta and other major cultural hubs on Broadway, Off Broadway, as well as throughout regional houses. His work can regularly be seen at the Old Globe in San Diego, Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC; Centro de Convenciones Figali in Panamá City, Panamá; Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and many others. Matt is a proud member of the professional designer’s union, United Scenic Artists Local 829. To see more of Matt’s work, visit www.matttaylordesign.com
Katie Hopgood
Sound Design
Kate Hopgood is thrilled to be returning to the Detroit Public Theatre. Credits: Broadway: Birthday Candles (Roundabout’s American Airlines Theater). Regional credits include: Mrs. Harrison (Williamston Theatre), Nora (Detroit Public Theatre), Julius Caesar (PlayMaker’s Repertory Company), The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Detroit Public Theatre), The Tempest, Richard III, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Loves Labour’s Lost… (Michigan Shakespeare Festival). Chicago: Love’s Labour’s Lost (Lifeline Theatre), Titus Andronicus (Babes with Blades), The Electric Baby, Wrens (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble).
Christopher Vergara
Costume Design
Christopher Vergara [he/him/él] is a NYC-based queer Latino costume designer rooted in culturally responsive design, education, and social justice. Select credits include American Mariachi (Alley Theatre); Espejos:Clean (Studio Theatre); Party People (Actors Theatre); How to MELT ICE (Boundless Theatre Company); Living and Breathing (Two River Theater); Sugar Skull: Dia de los Muertos Musical Adventure (Rhythm of the Arts); El Otro Oz (TheatreWorksUSA); Anna in the Tropics and Elian (Miami New Drama); Detroit ’67 (Detroit Public Theatre); Anna in the Tropics (Barrington Stage Company); Windfall (Bay Street Theater); A Survivor’s Odyssey: The Journey of Penelope and Circe (White Snake Projects), Bodas de Sangre (Phoenix Theater); Once (VinWonders, Vietnam); Macbeth (McCarter Theatre); In the Heights (Orlando Shakes); The Golem of Havana (La Mama and Miami New Drama); Madame Butterfly, La traviata (Brevard Music); and Walpurgisnacht, and Majisimas (Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo). He is a member of IATSE-USA 829, Wingspace, Design Action, La Gente: The Latiné Theatre Network, and Gotham Knights Rugby. christophervergara.com @cavergaradesign
Laurence Vance
Prod Design
Laurence Vance (he/him) is a recent graduate from the University of Michigan where he received his BFA in Theater Design & Production; concentrating in Set Design. He’s designed sets and props for multiple student productions and worked in the UofM’s Prop Shop all 4 years. This is his first non-University production and first time working with DPT and he would like to thank this team for this wonderful opportunity to tell this touching story through props in his hometown.
Doran Konja
Stage Manager
Doran Konja (he/him) – Doran is a Theatre Artist and Grant Writer that is more than excited to be back for DPT’s 9th Season. As a local Chaldean artist, he deeply appreciates DPT’s efforts to reflect the unique and diverse communities in Detroit through the work we produce. Some of his most memorable credits outside of DPT were with Shakespeare in Detroit (Detroit), The In[HEIR]itance Project (Detroit), The Agency (Chicago), and The New Coordinates (Chicago).
Chris Corporandy
Dialect
Christopher Corporandy has trained, worked, and taught as an actor and dialect coach in San Francisco, NYC, Dublin, Moscow, Buffalo, Atlanta, and of course the greatest of all, Detroit. Voice/Speech/Dialects (selected credits): American Hero, Murder Ballad, Dot, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Noura (DPT); Blood at the Root, One Man Two Guv’nors, Airness, Noises Off, One Arm, The Taming of the Shrew (Chautauqua Theatre Co.); The Letts Fest (Alliance Theater); Venus, Angels in America Parts 1 & 2, The Colored Museum, King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It (Hilberry Rep). Acting (selected): Dot, Birthday Candles 16 DetroitPublicTheatre.org (DPT); Dan Cody’s Yacht, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Romeo & Juliet Project (Chautauqua); The Brown Bull (Cherry Lane); Film: Savannah, The Wolf of Wall Street; TV: Hidden City. MFA: Hilberry Rep; BFA: Acting, NYU Tisch. Christopher is certified in Knight-Thompson Speech Work and currently teaches acting at The College for Creative Studies, where he is also international admissions counselor and hears a zillion accents each week.
Jen Pan
Intimacy Choreographer
Jen Pan (INTIMACY CHOREOGRAPHER) (she/they) is a Ypsilanti-based fight and intimacy director, actor, and stunt performer. Her work has recently been seen at Detroit Public Theatre (Mud Row, Passing Strange), Croswell Opera House (The Play That Goes Wrong, Beautiful, The Prom), Detroit Repertory Theatre (Life on the Moon), PTD Productions (Perfect Arrangement), and Livonia Shakespeare in the Park (Henry V). In addition to their training with the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD), Dueling Arts International (DAI), and Intimacy Directors & Coordinators (IDC), they are also a co-founder and lead instructor at Theatrica Gladiatoria, a year-round academy in SE Michigan for stage and film combat (www.fightglad.com).
Badriyyah Wazeerud-Din
Assistant Stage Manager
Badriyyah is delighted to be a part of the DPT family. She has worked on DPT productions Mud Row, Noura, Peculiar Patriot (build crew/light board), and Detroit ’67 On Tour & Passing Strange (ASM). She has been a stage manager and production assistant for the African World Festival, and a stage manager for the Obsidian Theatre Festival. As a resident of Detroit, DPT’s creative space in the community resonates deeply with her, where diverse and powerful stories come to life. She loves the performing arts and has appeared in musical theatre productions and has performed as an instrumentalist. Badriyyah is a captivating singer-songwriter, recording, and voiceover artist who enjoys performing and telling stories through music. She has performed and recorded with many artists including Painted Pictures, Malik Alston & The Linwood Ensemble, Sean Blackman, and Veronique. Her current well-received vinyl EP project is “You Are The One” (Truth Manifest Records). Family and friends bring her the greatest blessings and joy. IG: @badriyyahthesinger
William McClelland
Production Dramaturg
Will McClelland (he/him) is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, where he received his B.A. in Classical Civilization. He spent a great deal of time in the theater during his years at the university, and has directed, acted, produced, and worked as dramaturg for a number of shows, including Bakkhai and Much Ado About Nothing. He primarily works as DPT’s Box Office manager, but he is delighted to exercise his research skills as the dramaturg for Eight Nights, his first professional production!
