Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/915129
December 14 • 2017 37 jn continued from page 33 The play examines the intersec- tion of Jewish and black history in Detroit by way of three interracial couples, all loosely or tightly based on past and present members of Weinstein's family. The various relationships span over a century of time — from the 1930s to the 1970s to modern-day Detroit — and the play's narrative follows a Friday night in each of their lives, interwea- ving threads through history. Weinstein is a student in the Yale School of Drama's directing pro- gram and has worked on various projects in and around New York, including as Fall Festival director for Shakespeare & Company. Although she was born in San Francisco, her family traces its roots back to Detroit — her grandfather Leo Litwak still lives here (her great- grandfather Isaac Litwak founded the Jewish Laundry Workers union, later to become Teamsters Local 285). "I'm really excited to be back. I love Detroit," Weinstein says. "I'm really interested in how Jews view race as someone raised Jewish. I was in an interracial relationship, and the way I understood race was col- ored by my Jewish heritage and 'oth- erness' in the Jewish community." The first couple in the play is based on a great-aunt who mar- ried a black man in 1932. Both were members of the Communist Party. Although she grew up in an all-black neighborhood, her family still had "lots of feelings about the marriage," Weinstein says. Fast forward to the 1970s and the second couple: Weinstein's grand- father is a writer and a founder of the Teamsters union in Detroit. His partner of 40 years is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She had always told him she was Italian, but he finds out she is black from her fam- ily and has been passing as white for 40 years. The story raises ques- tions of how Jews benefit from white privilege and how Jews grew apart from blacks as they acculturated as immigrants. The third couple is (loosely) based on Weinstein's own life and a rela- tionship she had. It is the most fic- tionalized of all three, she says. The dynamics of a changing city and the historical baggage that returning to the city carries with it weigh heavily here. The location of the reading, a former-synagogue-turned-church- turned-fledging-interfaith-commu- nity-center, is a fitting backdrop that mirrors the themes the play con- fronts. Pastor Aramis D. Hinds, the owner of the former Temple Beth El, has made efforts to re-engage Jewish clergy and lay leaders in the restora- tion of the building. The reconcili- ation of long-simmering racial and religious tensions between Jews and blacks has been a major focus of his efforts, in partnership with Rabbi Ariana Silverman. This year, Rabbi Silverman made the decision to bring IADS's High Holiday services back into the city for the first time in 20 years. A grow- ing number of Jews — and at least four congregations — celebrated High Holidays within city limits; and many are now choosing to live or work in the city, which is about 83 percent black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau ( July 2015). Since the play is in late-stage development, audience feedback matters, Weinstein says. "The audi- ences' own experiences help inform the show — themes like gentrifica- tion, red-lining, segregation, even cultural appropriation as young art- ists move back into the city." Given how timely the themes are, the audience may quickly become collaborators and co-creators in the discussion that unfolds from Come My Beloved. • details Come My Beloved will be presented as a staged reading 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17, at the Bethel Community Transformation Center, 8801 Woodward Ave. (at Gladstone Street), Detroit. Tickets are a suggested donation of $10; visit bit.ly/comemybeloveddet. The reading will be followed by a community discussion. 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