A Beautiful, Disintegrating World
Arizona Jewish Theatre Company's "The Sisters Rosensweig" at 
Herberger Theater
*** (out of *****)
Mark S.P. Turvin
(w) 965-1021  (h) 894-5443
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@asu.edu

	Wendy Wasserstein is a driving force in American theatre. She 
has won countless awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for "The 
Heidi Chronicles." She is a writer who writes what she knows, so 
her central characters tend to be middle aged leftist American 
Jewish women from New York City. This may seem to limit her scope 
and make her plays inaccessible to anyone not falling into that 
narrow category, yet she is able to take these specific 
characters, and make them human. Despite their upbringing and 
station in life, many of these characters are easy to plug into. 
This is not specifically Women's despair, or Jewish despair, but 
human suffering. 
	In her 1992 play, "The Sisters Rosensweig," Ms. Wasserstein 
updates Chekov's "The Three Sisters," and sets it in 1991 London 
at the time of the fall of the Soviet Union. In the beautifully 
appointed house of Sara Goode nee Rosensweig, the brilliant, 
expatriated Sara and her beautiful and restless daughter Tess are 
readying for the arrival of Sara's sisters to celebrate her 50th 
birthday. Sara is the president of an Asian bank. Her sister Pfeni 
is a travel writer and former corespondent in love with Geoffrey, 
a world renowned, bisexual musical theatre director. Her sister 
Gorgeous is a radio talkshow host in suburban Boston. Each has 
followed different paths with different results. During this 
weekend, Sara and her sisters face the consequences of their 
choices, deal with the men that zip in and out of their lives, and 
try to decide if the paths were the right ones. To complicate 
matters, Sara must choose between living alone and beginning again 
with the kind of man, Mervyn Kant the furrier, that she shied away 
from all those years ago during her childhood in Brooklyn.
	The play is well written, though the focus is not quite as 
broad as some of her other plays; this script tends to have poor 
little rich girls whining about their decision to forgo social 
lives for success. Still, though, it is enjoyable, if a bit long 
and mean-spirited at times. AJTC's production, directed by Jean 
Thomsen (director of last years acclaimed Five Women Wearing the 
Same Dress produced by In Mixed Company), is polished and lavish. 
The pacing is quick and the acting very solid. If there can be 
anything said to be wrong with it, despite the occasional 
nastiness in Ms. Wasserstein's writing, is that it seems almost 
too polished. 
	The remarkable unit set, designed by T. John Weltzien, and 
the lush lighting, designed by William H. Magee, are 
breathtakingly spectacular. The parlor of Sara's beautiful home is 
perfect in every detail. Kudos also go to William Osborne's 
generally flawless sound design, and Elizabeth Ihlenfeld's 
costumes, which all were of Broadway quality. 
	Almost as impressive were the performances, especially those 
of Patti Suarez as the frostbitten Sara, and Ben Tyler as 
suitor/furrier Mervyn. The only thing missing from their 
presentations was a spark between them to let the audience know 
that something more than banter is in the air. Also solid were the 
performances of Traci Hill and Kathi Osborne as Pfeni and 
Gorgeous. The supporting performances of Gil Berry as the 
indecisive Geoffrey and Christie Roam as Sara's revolutionary 
daughter Tess, dreaming of joining the fighting in the 
disintegrating Soviet Union, were at turns funny and frenetic. 
While all of the performances were wonderfully polished, they 
lacked a certain spontaneity to them. 
	In the two years since seeing my first show there, AJTC has 
matured and blossomed into a successful company with quality 
productions. I only hope that in the process of growing up, they 
won't forget about the heart and liveliness that made their 
productions quirky and endearing. 

Production Details:
"The Sisters Rosensweig" by Wendy Wasserstein
Arizona Jewish Theatre Company
Herberger Theatre, Phoenix
252-8947
November 9th-November 24th, 1996

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