SAN DIEGO — There’s an old Yiddish proverb: If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. We all make plans for our futures. Some work out, but many don’t. We’re encouraged to reach for the stars, but often we fall and hit the hard ground.
With the passing years, our families change and yet stay the same. Making God Laugh follows an American family with three grown children from the 80s to the twenty-first century. Bill and Ruthie are empty nesters in their cozy suburban home, waiting for “the kids” to arrive for Thanksgiving. The accouterments are very Catholic with the Ten Commandments by the front door, a crucifix, a portrait of the Madonna and Child and no mention of sex.
“You’re the reason God made me.”
The mother, Ruthie is the hub of the family. A whirlwind of shpilkes and passive aggressive energy, she melts Velveeta for her infamous “Fantasia Dip.” It “tastes like burning tires in an ashtray,” but no one has the heart to tell her. Actor Deena Mattox plays her a little over the top, yet she is fun to watch.
“Don’t you have to be thin to be an actress?”
Kayleen Plummer gave the most consistently strong performance as the daughter, Maddie. Initially dressed like Cyndi Lauper in black stockings and a purple tutu, she’s going to drama school to be an actress. But “acting doesn’t make tires or babies.” So Ruthie would rather she give us such silliness and land a good man. Over the years, we get to see her grow and mature, really coming into her own as a person.
“Sweetheart, I’m here for a good time, not a long time.”
Eric Austen is a wild card as Richard, the middle child. Rather full of himself, he was a big football star in college. But he never made the NFL, so he compensates with fast cars, fast women and chasing a quick buck. Austen really had us laughing when he caught Y2K fever, bunkering down for the apocalypse that never happened.
Father Tom is the good child. Ruthie is so proud of her son the priest that even she calls him “Father Tom.” Part of his job is listening to confessions, but he’d rather not hear the details of old ladies’ fantasies of Tom Selleck. I liked that Anthony Maze played him as a real person, someone with a calling to do good in this world without being holier than thou.
As the kids contend with their mother, the constant tug of war between what she wants for their lives and what they want for themselves, Bill just wants to keep the peace. A quiet, huggable teddy bear of a man, Bill comes across rather nebbishy at first. But Lee Price imbues him with a quiet strength at his core.
Making God Laugh is a fun piece of community theatre that takes us through the photo albums of many families with their bonds and dysfunctions. It will make you laugh and hopefully hug your own people a little more closely. …Or at least call once in a while.
Making God Laugh is playing at the Point Loma Playhouse through March 15.
And that’s show-biz.
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Eric George Tauber is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com