‘Bad Jews’ will start conversations
By Eric George Tauber
SAN DIEGO — What is precious to us? What little keepsakes do we hang onto that may hold little monetary value to others but are priceless to us?
Such an item was Poppy’s chai, a little trinket of the Hebrew letters chet and yud that means “life.” For two years, Poppy kept his little gold chai under his tongue to hide it from the Nazis. So this chai is a very precious family heirloom. But which of his three grandchildren should get it?
The best of families can be fraught with friction. The tension is particularly rife between cousins Daphna and Liam. Daphna is a “Super Jew” who reads Hebrew and plans to join the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) whereas Liam brazenly eats shortbread cookies at Passover. And both of them are claiming their just buried Poppy’s chai.
Danielle Frimer, as Daphna, talks a mile a minute with her hands fluttering like birds on cocaine. Sure of the logic of her conclusions, she knows that you’ll completely agree if you only hear her out. For all of her seeming piety, she has a thing or two to learn about lashon hara (wicked speech). Her tongue is barbed like a cat-of-nine-tails.
Josh Odsess-Rubin as Liam is high-strung like a klezmer’s violin, shrying high-pitched squeals of angst. Smart, opinionated and headstrong, he and Daphna are a lot more alike than they realize, and this is what makes them bitter rivals.
Tom Zohar as Jonah tries to be Switzerland, keeping himself out of their duel. But he gets hit in the cross-fire. The brotherly banter reminded me of two of my own nephews with the elder speaking rapid-fire and the younger choosing his shots with more care.
Liam’s very blond shiksa (non-Jewish) girlfriend steps into the mix like an exotic spice thrown into a cherished family recipe. She’s very nice, but she will never really fit in as one of the family. Katie Sapper brought the house down with her over-the-top ridiculous treatment of Gershwin’s Summertime. I had never thought of it as a funny song before, but she was hilarious as her powerful soprano high-notes missed their marks.
Cygnet has knocked this one out of the ballpark. The chemistry among the cousins was such that you’d think they really had a lifetime of history together. The story is one that touches all of us, Jewish or not, and is sure to generate some intense conversations.
But the conversation that needs to happen is how to avoid some of the ugliness that comes with grief. We prize family heirlooms because of the cherished memories imbued in them. But should we ever cherish these things more than each other?
“Bad Jews” is playing at the Cygnet’s Old Town Theatre through Feb 12, 2017.
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Tauber is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com.