Shmulnik’s Waltz
by Allan Knee
Directed by Claude File
Arizona Jewish Theatre Company
Viad Playhouse on the Park, Phoenix
(602) 264-0402
December 27th, 2003 - January 11th, 2004
$26.00 - $28.00 ($7 Student Rush half hour before curtain)

There’s a little bit of Shmulnik in all of us. He’s that part of you that dreams, that desires, that will travel the world to follow his heart. It’s for this reason that Arizona Jewish Theatre Company’s latest production, the Arizona premiere of Allan Knee’s Shmulnik’s Waltz is impossible to dislike. Shmulnik is an engaging and enterprising gypsy who travels from Russia around the world to New York City in the early 20th century in search of his dream woman. He’s as clever as he is poor, and no matter what his current situation, he’s always positive he’ll achieve his dreams. The final results of his story are obvious five minutes into the play, yet his is a journey we nonetheless enjoy taking. What we learn are all of the old clichés about trust, truth, and appearances, but they’re good lessons worth retelling. Director Claude File keeps this sweet show running at a gypsy’s pace and has filled Shmulnik’s world with talented actors and minimalist design elements to keep us focused on the important things, like character, plot, and moral.

Shmulnik’s (Christopher Williams, pictured right at center) story begins with his falling in love, finding himself enamored by the beautiful Rachel (Heather Massie, right). His obstacles are her class-minded father (David Barker) who forbids a betrothal to a man without means and her educated but cold sister Feyla (Katherine Stewart, left). He spends the next two hours pursing her, positive he will find some way to woo her, even when it means trying to wrest her from her betrothed and wealthy suitor Jonathan (Christopher Mascarelli).

This is a fairy tale, a fact to which File remains constantly true. He does not load the show down with too much bulk, whether in Jeff Blake’s flats-based set, Gail Wolfenden-Steib’s simple, appropriate costumes, or in his movement, which is crisp and comical. He has cast the spirited Williams to deftly juggle the show, utilizing the actor’s strong physical and vocal skills to keep the ever-smiling Shmulnik in the audience’s collective heart. The evening is a constant whirl, entering and exiting and using the space tirelessly, engaging both the eye and the mind simultaneously.

Williams’ Shmulnik is hard to resist. As is his M.O., Williams is Shmulnik, never letting us doubt for a second his gypsy upbringing or his cleverness in each situation. Massie plays the coquettish Rachel as it should be played, while Stewart does a great job of expressing the broad character arc of the slowly defrosting Feyla. Barker is his usual wonderful self, broadly presenting the father with just the right amount of modulation. Boyd Branch plays several subsidiary characters quite well, never allowing one to bleed into the others. Tina Khalil has a grand time playing the loose woman Minnie in her cameo appearance, though her level of presentationalism is a little broader than the remaining cast. Initially, the same could be said for Mascarelli’s too perfect competitor, appearing to offer too much façade, but there is a reason for this as his character fleshes out.

While it travels over familiar ground, Knee’s fairy tale is still quite charming, and the cast and crew are earnest in their presentation. The show is funny, charming, and wistful, an enjoyable two hours in a world where everyone truly does live happily ever after.