‘Bad Jews’ – Written by Josh Harmon; Directed by Tony Estrella; Set Design by Patrick Lynch; Costume Design by Jessie Darrell Jarbadan; Lighting Design byDavid Roy; Sound Design by Peter Sasha Hurowitz, Presented by The Gamm Theatre at 1245 Jefferson Blvd., Warwick, RI through March 26.
by Mike Hoban
At a time when anti-Semitism and violence against Jews are disturbingly on the rise, attending a play with the name Bad Jews may not seem like such a great way to spend an evening. A dozen or so protesters connected with the RI Coalition for Israel thought so, picketing the show outside the theater on the day of the press performance – not based on the content of the play (which one imagines they have not seen), but the title. Once inside, Gamm artistic director Tony Estrella assured the audience that the company respects the right to free speech, “both on the sidewalk and in the theater.” Having seen the play, let me assure you that the title is in no way a condemnation of the Jewish religion or culture. Instead, it’s a self-reference by one of the play’s Jewish characters on how poorly he practices his faith, much like Catholics who only show up for church on Christmas and Easter would describe themselves as a “bad Catholics.”
Title aside, the play explores what often happens to families when an elder dies, particularly when there is something valuable like an inheritance or a family heirloom to be squabbled over. Instead of a time of remembrance, greed and smoldering dormant personality conflicts resurface and erupt – sometimes explosively. In the case of Bad Jews, grandfather Poppy has passed following a brief illness, and after the funeral, the three college-age grandchildren/cousins are asked to share a studio apartment as they await the beginning of Shiva (the seven-day mourning period observed by Jews) the next day. When the play opens, we meet Daphna Feygenbaum (Sarah Corey), by far the most observant (not to be confused with spiritual) of the grandchildren, and Jonah (Hillel Rosenshine), her reserved younger cousin. Daphna pummels the reticent Jonah with an endless stream of vitriolic chatter, culminating with her stating the case that Poppy’s Chai (a Hebrew word and symbol that roughly translates to “life”) necklace – that he kept hidden from the Nazis through his internment in a concentration camp by keeping it under his tongue for a full two years – should rightfully be left to her because she is the only “real Jew” of the three grandchildren.
Enter Liam (John Hardin) – whose given name is Shlomo – and his shiksa (gentile) girlfriend Melody (Nora Eschenheimer), back from their ski trip in Aspen. Liam is decidedly secular, having once posted pictures of himself in a Santa hat next to a Christmas tree on Facebook, a move most likely designed to taunt his more religious family members, particularly Daphna. Unbeknownst to Daphna, he too has laid claim to the Chai, for an entirely different reason. This sets the stage for a brutal – but often funny – duel between the two clinical narcissists, the likes of which hasn’t been seen onstage since the last production of Who’s Afraid of Virginian Woolf, minus the booze.
Inadvertently drawn into the fray is Melody, who bears the brunt of Daphna’s combination of insecurity and loathing at Liam’s decision to date a blue-eyed, blond woman outside his faith. She unloads a horrifyingly self-righteous screed on Liam’s unsuspecting girlfriend, which concludes with her telling Melody that her “family was more than likely major contributors and perhaps even leaders of the most atrocious genocide in American history,” simply by virtue of her ancestors being of European descent and emigrating to Delaware. Liam is equally brutal in his take down of Daphna for her “Talmudic personality,” as he dissects his cousin’s all-consuming fascination with her Jewishness with this reality slap: “I know she wishes she were this like barbed wire hopping, Uzi-toting Israeli warlock superhero: Daphna; but, Diana Feygenbaum (her given name) grew up in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania!”
While much of this may sound like fierce, albeit ruthless, family arguments, playwright Josh Harmon (who also wrote the scathing dark comedy Admissions, which intelligently skewered progressive identity politics and affirmative action policies) also makes some points worth pondering. Is retaining the identity of one’s given tribe good for the individual or humanity as a whole? Conversely, what are the consequences of assimilation, i.e. do you erase the identity of an entire population, whether its a religious or racial community?
Bad Jews is billed as a comedy, but this version feels more like a drama with jokes. It may be the pacing of the play, as director Tony Estrella has Corey (who plays Daphna) open the play with a relentless torrent of self-centered bitching at lightning speed, without allowing some of the comic moments to breathe (Historically, this is something that gets fixed between previews and the official opening). I saw this show nearly a decade ago, when antisemitism was much more muted, and I remember it as being hilarious, despite all the invective.
While Daphna is tough to take at the beginning, Corey really shines later in the production, particularly in the telling of the story of Poppy and the beloved Chai that she so desperately wants, as well as in her later scenes where she defends herself against the verbal assaults by Liam. The rest of the cast is solid, and Eschenheimer is most effective as Melody when she shows that she’s no shrinking violet as she finally stands up to the family’s madness.
While Bad Jews may not reach it’s comic potential (barring some re-tooling after previews) it’s still compelling theater, and well worth a visit to the Gamm. There will also be a lot to talk about on the ride home. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.gammtheatre.org/badjews
