Arizona Jewish Theatre Company's The Gift Horse at The Herberger Theatre Center Stage West
(out of 
)Mark S.P. Turvin
(home office) (602) 912-0117
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 11/6/99
(out of )This season, Arizona Jewish Theatre Company has decided to present new plays for a new millennium, offering Arizona premieres of Jewish-themed works. Their first production, Michael Hardstark's The Gift Horse, is a broad comedy in the style of the Simon brothers. The play, having its first production outside the confines of Manhattan, is simple and fun. It covers no new ground and sometimes awkwardly handles exposition through the unimpressive use of telephone conversations, but once the action begins in earnest in the second act, it does offer a pleasant diversion with some important cultural themes and enjoyable and funnily unexpected results.
The script chronicles the clash of cultures in a Jewish family in 1959. The battle is between old world values embodied by a visiting grandfather, a Polish Torah scholar, and the new world fixations of a son-in-law and his on-the-make brother. Set on Los Angeles' heavily working class Jewish Fairfax Avenue, the two lock horns about the future of young Ralph, who finds himself torn between his grandfather's scholarly aspirations, and his father's monetary-driven desires.
Fortunately for Mr. Hardstark, the production is helmed by comedian Bob Sorenson, who brings his masterly comic timing to the piece. He drives his actors forward at a furious pace that works as a perfect counterpoint to the occasional reflective moments. The breakneck speed helps to propel the script through the extended exposition, and establishes the characters without allowing the audience to feel they are stock or lacking in depth. It's not just his pacing skills, though, that work for this production. Mr. Sorenson has wisely cast his show, finding the perfect actors to play the scheming brothers, pious grandfather, and integral supporting cast.
The three leads are wonderful. Mr. Sorenson has found two great actors to play brothers. Nick Glaeser and Gene Ganssle as an out-for-a-buck barber and his shifty younger sibling seems obvious once suggested. Always his strong point, Mr. Glaeser sets the pace well, and successfully plays for laughs, although he seems to have lost an accent that is textually hinted at. Mr. Ganssle is just hilarious as a two-bit player with aspirations of a big score. And who better to play a wise-but-kvetchy Isaac Cantor than Marty Berger? He has a depth that carries the scholar, and a great comedic timing that allows him to shade his character.
Generally, the supporting cast is up to the level of the leads. Gwen Loeb and Donnie Benjamin do a solid job as mother and son, doing what they can with their textually limited and occasionally inconsistent characters. Bruce Nelson and Julie Cotton are also saddled with thin, plot-driven characters as the barbershop's shoe shine man and manicurist respectively, but bring as much believability as they can to their roles. In their smaller roles, Sam Barcelona wisely overplays the stereotype of his gangster character for great effect, and Steven J. Scally gives a relaxed and natural performance as the schlemiel-y customer with a crush on Ms. Cotton.
The script has some challenges for the designers, and they do a solid job of compensating. Paul Bridgeman recreates the combination barbershop and house well, using a scrim separation for an occasionally used kitchen that is difficult to see through at first, but is an acceptable workaround. Lighting Designer Mike Eddy is up to his usual high standard, and Sound Designer Darin Stillman is quite successful. Good choices come from Costume Designer David M. Anaya, Jr., who captures the essence of character, period and location.
There may not be a lot of original territory explored here, but most involved with this project invest themselves in it enough to raise the level and stakes to make for an enjoyable evening. If nothing else, old roads leads to some interesting vistas, and the final, very funny payoff image of the evening is worth the trip.
Production Details:
The Gift Horse by Michael
Hardstark
Arizona Jewish Theatre Company
The Herberger Theatre Center Stage West, Phoenix
(602) 252-8497
November 6th - November 21st, 1999