Theatre
& Stage
reviews by SalsaChicago.com critic Al Bresloff
Jewtopia
(open run)
It
has been the ability to laugh at themselves
that has kept the Jewish population as strong
as it has been. While many will find "Jewtopia"
the new production gracing the stage of the
Mercury Theater , full of stereotypes and
cliches, there are some very funny moments
for Jews and Gentiles alike. While much of
the humor is aimed at the Jewish audience,
the Gentiles in Chicago are very sophisticated
and after watching many of the TV sit-coms
and Neil Simon plays as well as listening
to Jackie Mason, get it! The story line is
quite simple: two 30 year old, single men
meet at a Temple Singles Party. They haven't
seen each other in years. Adam Lipschitz is
there searching for a Jewish wife to keep
peace in his family. Chris O'Connell. a Gentile,
wants to marry a Jewish girl so he will never
have to make another decision. They decide
to work together. Chris will bring Adam to
"Jewtopia" if Adam will help him to shed his
Gentile ways and bring him into the "Jewish
world". From this point on, we see every stereotype
you can imagine, cultures clashing and some
very funny moments.
Director
John Tillinger has assembled a fine cast of
actors to bring this farce to life here in
Chicago. This was written as a comedy scene,
performed by its' writers Bryan Fogel and
Sam Wolfson, JEWTOPIA has been a rousing hit
in New York, and this cast is one that should
allow the show to be here for some time. Scott
Antonucci is a delight to watch as Adam, but
the show really belongs to William "Sandy"
Smillie as Chris. He is dynamite. All of the
other parts are handled by Malcolm Rothman,
Frederick Stone, the very funny Cindy Gold,
Christine Bunuan (who ends up with Adam) and
they hysterical, Lily Tomlinish Brandy McClendon
who plays all of Adam's J-Dates, Chris's eventual
wife and Adams' kid sister (she is a blast!).
While the cliches are many, I found myself
laughing quite loudly ( as were other around
me). They could trim 10 minutes off and still
be a fun evening.
Jewtopia
is in an open run at the Mercury Theater located
at 3745 N. Southport (in Wrigleyville) with
performances as follows:
In
May: most Wednesdays at 7:30 but on the 25th
8 p.m. most Thursdays at 7:30 but on the 26th,
8 p.m. Fridays at 8 p.m. Saturdays at 5 p.m.
and 8:30 p.m. Sundays at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
In
June all are as above but Wednesday and Thursday
are all 8 p.m.
Tickets
range in price from $39.50 to $54.50 and can
be purchased at the box office, by phone at
773-325-1700 or online at www.jewtopiaplay.com
