Oh, let your dead revive!
Let corpses arise!
Awake and sing for joy,
You who dwell in the dust…
(Isa. 26:19, JPS Tanakh)
By Eric George Tauber
CARLSBAD, California — When I first read the press release for Awake and Sing! it rang a bell, something from a college textbook about its significance in the history of American theatre. And this is what brought me up to the New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad on a Sunday afternoon.
Playwright Clifford Odets (1906-1963) was a son of Jewish immigrants who formed the Group Theatre. Young and idealistic, they lived communally, creating an ensemble approach to acting that emphasized coöperation over stardom. While relatively short-lived (1931-41), the Group Theatre trained some of the most influential acting teachers of the 20th century including Lee Strasberg and Sanford Meisner.
With that ethos, we are invited into the Berger’s home. Director/Scenic Designer Kristianne Kurner created a cozy apartment radiating warmth and charm with a lace tablecloth and a wooden radio. Not overly religious, a silver menorah stands on a credenza as a lone testament to it’s being a Jewish home.
Sandy Campbell is Bessie Berger, the matriarchal hub of the family. Smart and strong, she’s as devoted, loving and aggravating as a mother can be, delivering such lines as “I should live so long,” and “I could die from shame,” with natural aplomb. More than a Jewish-mother stereotype, she’s a real force to be reckoned with.
Her husband Myron is a good soul, but a nebbish, the kind of man that everyone likes, but nobody really respects. Actor Joe Paulson had his head shaved bald as Myron attributes his lot as a luckless shlemazel to his empty pate.
The son Ralphie speaks rapid-fire about his dreams and frustrations. J Tyler Jones imbues him with energy, sensitivity, wide-eyed idealism and boyish charm. He’s the one we really root for and shows the most promise.
Eric Poppick as Grampa Jacob talks of “revolution” in a thick Yiddish accent. A Jew from “the old country,” he knows from life’s tsuris. A sweet soul, he swoons to Caruso and cries for the starving. His bond with Ralph is very touching as he provides the gentle shoulder for Ralph to cry upon.
Anna Rebek gives us a witty and acerbic daughter, Hennie. Mama’s chief rival, she’s practically a spinster at twenty-three. Often, she must bite her tongue, but then shoots flames from her eyes. She claims that she never cried in her life, but it’s a broken soul that sheds no tears.
Max Macke’s Moe Axelrod is sweet on Hennie, but is not a sweet soul. Obnoxious and abrasive, he sees all of life as a “racket.” He’s plenty cynical, but is he right?
Tom Deák exudes confidence as Uncle Morty. Financially, he’s done very well. But his well-tailored suits cover an emptiness within. Tom Steward, a large and powerful man, was filled with pride and pain as the rough-handed immigrant, Sam Feinshreiber.
Each of them is after the American Dream. But what is it? Is it the opportunity to make a lot of money? Is it the freedom to speak your mind and fight for your rights? Is it the struggle to make a better world? Each of them has their own answer to this question as do each of us.
New Village Arts has captured the coöperative spirit of the Group Theatre by giving us a beautifully complex ensemble in a story filled with hope and tears. If your spirit is dwelling in dust, Awake and Sing! will raise it to life.
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Tauber is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com