8 minute read
Tap-Dancing Car Guy
ARTS&LIFE
THEATER
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BRIAN CRAIG
Tom Pagano, Erin Johnson and Jason Bowen in Nicely’s Anything Goes
Tap-Dancing Car Guy
GM engineer takes on two roles in Anything Goes.
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Adam Bernard has reached number four in counting times he has participated in Michigan productions of the musical comedy Anything Goes.
Number four will be staged March 3-5 at The Berman Center for the Performing Arts in West Bloomfield by the Nicely Theatre Group. Bernard takes on two roles — a bartender at the beginning and a passenger joining ensemble numbers throughout.
In earlier versions of the play, about shipboard romance, Bernard appeared as a sailor for both Stagecrafters in Royal Oak and Avon Players in Rochester. In contrast, he had behind-the-scenes responsibilities as assistant director for the Grosse Pointe Theatre.
“This is a fun, entertaining, family-friendly show,” said Bernard, 58, a Royal Oak resident. “I love the music, and I think the script is hilarious. I enjoy tap dancing, and there is tap dancing in the show. I love the era, the 1930s, so we get some cool costumes. I’ve done dramas and comedies, but I always like the band shows best.”
With a classic score by Cole Porter, the production is filled with songs that are still being performed albeit with stylistic variations. They include “I Get a Kick Out of You” and “You’re the Top.”
“I especially like ‘Anything Goes’ and ‘Blow, Gabriel, Blow’ as the big ensemble musical numbers with hummable tunes,” Bernard said. “Our choreographer has done an amazing job pushing us to our limits to create a really great look.”
Bernard, associate director for competitive intelligence at General Motors, has been interested in music performance since attending high school in New Jersey, where he was in the choir.
In college, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he took tap dancing to fulfill a physical education requirement while volunteering for backstage theater projects that involved building sets.
LOVE OF CARS
Construction has been another constant in Bernard’s life, but that connected him to vehicles.
“I have been a car enthusiast since I’ve been 3 years old,” Bernard said. “I played with Matchbox cars, and I would draw cars. I originally wanted to be an automotive designer and then decided I needed an engineering degree as a foundation.
“While I was at MIT, I stumbled into a summer internship with General Motors in their design organization and really enjoyed it. I interned for a couple of summers and joined them when I graduated.”
After working full time
for a couple of years, Bernard returned to the university setting to earn a master’s degree and then continued at General Motors for a career that evolved over 36 years.
In his present assignment, Bernard makes sure his firm is kept aware of what is being done by competitors.
“At work, I do a lot of presentations and videos for internal use,” Bernard said. “[Because of my work in theater], I don’t have any reservations about speaking in front of large groups. I am the writerpresenter, and General Motors has video experts in house to film me and do backgrounds [that include] music.”
Bernard, who drives a Chevrolet Camaro convertible, collects antique cars, a hobby he shares with husband, Richard Kwiecien, a retired nurse. Bernard owns a classic Buick Riviera and a Mini Cooper and belongs to a club of car enthu-
DETAILS siasts who travel Anything Goes starts to vehicle exhibits at 7:30 p.m. Thursday- and participate in
Saturday, March 3-5, the annual Dream at The Berman Center Cruise. for the Performing “The first show Arts at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. A Saturday matinee starts at 2 p.m. $33. nicelytheatregroup.org. I auditioned for at Stagecrafters was George M! which is all about [composer and entertainer] George M. Cohan,” Bernard recalled. “I got in and started taking tap classes because there was a lot of tap in the show. I’ve taken about four years’ worth of tap classes.” Bernard, who had his bar mitzvah in New Jersey, realized he retained his Jewish-study skills when his niece asked him to participate in her bat mitzvah four years ago. Defining himself as culturally Jewish, he was glad he could still read Hebrew. “A lot of people view engineers as being very left-brained and structured,” Bernard said about reactions to his core career and his belief that doing musical shows makes him appear more creative — with a plus. “If I do a show with a lot of dancing, I get a nice workout.”
DOMINIQUE HINDE
Adam Bernard in Nicely’s Anything Goes
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