SAN DIEGO –There are stories to be told and Lord knows, we Jews have a treasure trove tucked away in our goodie bags. Ready at the drop of a hat or staged reading, a Broadway musical or full-length play, they can be boldly unleashed. Some stories are funny others are tragic while some live in the middle of both worlds.
Chronos Theatre Group is mounting Tales of Chelm based on the stories of Sholem Aleichem and others at the Swedenborg Hall in University Heights. Hoping for a light evening of entertainment, I along with a friend ventured out for some easy laughs and guffaws. That was only half the find, however.
Chelm, I recently learned is a real place. I was always under the impression that it was a mythical place in Poland and the tales were mythical folklore based on the kind of self-depreciating/self critical (but always with a lesson in mind) humor found in that mythical village.
They are sort of bada bing, bada boom! moments that teach, spoof or make reference to—a biblical story, something that happened in the synagogue or just about some of the characters in their little hamlets.
“Some of these characters are often caricatures which have lent themselves to much further development by writers like Isaac Bashevis Singer and Sholem Aleichem in their Yiddish stories.” *
According to director Eric George Tauber, (he also wrote a few of his own) his idea was to combine some of Chelm stories inspired by Sholem Aleichem along with compilations of others and give the 90-minute show a more varied flavor combining laughter with tears. He succeeded.
Overall the production sped along taking in no less than seventeen short stories, (no intermission) some lasting just minutes between set ups and acting out the tale. Some of my favorites were on the lighter side: “Mistaken Identity”, “Town Council Meeting”, and “Status”, “All that plus a warm tuchus?” “The Shnorrer”, “Our drunken no-goodnicks” and “One Little Goat” sung by the entire ensemble. “The Train Station” scene in the end is taken right out of “Fiddler”. Others have a vague resemblance to scenes from “Fiddler”.
And while the nine-member cast boasted at least three to four Jews, one thing that I absolutely insist on is that when performing as a Jew in a play that is about Jews that the CH sound comes right from the back of the tongue touching the back of the throat…not an H sound, not a K sound, not a hard C sound but a CHHHHHH sound, like you are scratching a tickle in the back of your throat. OK now all together now, let’s practice, CH, CH, CH, CHelm!
Enjoy.
Chronos Theatre Group presents “Tales of Chelm”, written and directed by Eric George Tauber, at Swedenborg Hall in University Heights November 12/13/14 and 19/20. With Lucy Ann Albert, Anthony Gioffre, Justine Hince, Megan Maher, Gerard Maxwell, Matt Murphy, Eric George Tauber, Jackie Tauber, and
*http://www.eldrbarry.net/roos/books/nood.htm
See you at the theatre.
Dates: Fri. Nov. 12th and 19th/Sat. Nov.13th, Sun. 14th @ 7:PM and 20th @8: PM
Organization: Chronos Theatre Group
Phone: 858-245-3575
Production Type: Story telling
Where: Swedenborg Hall, University Heights, 1531 Tyler Street, San Diego, CA 92103
Ticket Prices: $13.00 for seniors/ $10.00 for students $15.00 other
Web: chronostheatre.com