So the goy yutz writing under this byline takes his frequent theater companion, his shiksa daughter named Christina (oy vey!), to the Chicago premiere of “Old Jews Telling Jokes.”
Overall, they like it fine. But as the schmegeggy walks out, he’s not really feeling part of the whole mishpocha (go figure). It dawns on him he knows bupkis aboutJewish humor or culture, even though he absolutely LOLed throughout the 80-minute performance of mostly stand-up comedy.
Still, he doesn’t want his review to come across as chozzerai or he as some pisher. So he starts thinking of alternatives less time consuming than online Hebrew School to keep from being considered a schmuck by his editors and readers.
Well, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob smiles down on this nebbish. In the valet line after the show, he and Christina are standing directly in front of two loud, senior, Jewish siblings originally from the East Coast. Seizing the opportunity, he eavesdrops on the post-performance kibitzing of Kenneth and Esther:
K: So Bubeleh, did you just love it?
E: I laughed my tukhus off. Thanks so much; it was a lovely thing to take me with you.
K: So you hated it.
E: No. I liked it. Really. If, on the other hand, Mother, God rest her soul, was still here, she would not have enjoyed this.
K: I don’t know. She’d kvetch, but I think she’d have liked it fine.
E: Kenneth, you didn’t know her like I did. She liked musicals. This show had a few ditties, but it’s no musical. And half the jokes were about schlongs and shtuping. She wouldn’t have liked that. I wonder if that Marjie Killeen was one of the writers.
K: Well, if you liked it so much, quit acting like a shmendrick. And, by the way, it says here in the program the show was written by Peter Gethers and Daniel Okrent, based on a website created by some guy named Sam Hoffman. So Marjie didn’t have input.
E: You know what I did like? Those monologues.
K: Tell me about it. I got verklempt with each and every one.
E: You’re meshuggener.
K: I’m not. When each of the five characters has that solo moment–telling how the Yiddish language and the Jewish humor are part of who they are–call me meshugga all you want. That was good theater.
E: I agree. Without those, it would have been 75 minutes of old jokes, though I grant you, most, if not all of them, made me nearly pee my pants. I hope I did not.
K: I agree with Mother, God rest her soul. They should have sung more.
E: And they had the cast for it. I’ve seen that adorable Dara Cameron at the Marriott, and Alex Goodrich, too. Gene Weygandt’s been the Wizard in “Wicked.” And Renee Matthews was Yente in “Fiddler.” The only one who I’m not sure if he sings much is Tim Kazurinsky. But still, the little songs they did were cute. And God knows that’s one funny cast.
K: And we were here on opening night. You’ll be the macher with your bridge group. They’ll all want to know if they should go.
E: And I’ll tell them, “Go. Enjoy.” And then, I’ll make you a bet, Dinah and Sol will go, and they’ll like it but they’ll tell me they didn’t. Their chutzpah!
K: So Bubie, don’t tell them anything then. I’m just glad we came and enjoyed it.
E: You’re a good brother, Kenneth.
“Old Jews Telling Jokes ” performs Tuesday through Sunday, through February 16, 2014, at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Tickets range from $49-69 (plus fees) with group discounts available for 10 or more. Tickets are available at the box office, by calling 312-988-9000 or online at ticketmaster.com.
Barry Reszel is a Libertyville-based writer, at-home dad and executive director of the not-for-profit entertainment company Liberty Town Productions.
