Steadstyle Chicago
	November 2009 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	High Holidays Often it is said that we live in a world of stereotypes, even though we know that what we think about other people may not be real.  In Alan Gross' drama, "High Holidays," now playing in The Goodman's Owen Theatre, we are taken back to the 1960's in a suburb of Chicago (for this show, he uses Iroquois) in a typical Jewish home just days before the Jewish New Year.  The Roman family could easily be any family dealing with the times, which were changing.  Since Gross is Jewish with lots of family members to draw material from, and grew up in Skokie, which at the time was very Jewish, it makes sense that the characters are also Jewish.  I know that all races, religions and nationalities are poked fun at in plays, movies and books and over the years.  Most have found themselves not being offended in what they are seeing, but truly can find the humor in looking at what they grew up living in a world of stereotypes, before we truly knew what that meant. I guess the only thing that bothered me about this play was the use of Yiddish terms, sprinkled in the script to make the play more Jewish.  Often they were not used or pronounced properly and it appeared that there was a theme allowing for one Yiddish term or word every 6 lines of dialogue.  While I am sure this was not the case, there was many a word or phrase dropped in where it would have worked just as well without.  Tell the story without gimmicks!  If the story is good enough, the ideas will be understood and felt by the audience.  The actors in this cast are strong enough to build the relationship without the gimmicks. This story is or could be a solid story of the changing times in our world and our lives.  The guilt trips that our parents and grandparents put us through (no matter the ethnicity, there are guilt trips); the desire of our parents to see us have more than they did and the fear that once our children get smarter than we are, will they lose respect for us?  These are what Gross is teaching us.  In this production, smoothly directed by Steven Robman on a finely created set by Kevin Depinet, we meet what appears to be a typical family of the times.  Young Billy (which by the way is not a typical Jewish name) is a young man who is two months away from his Bar Mitzvah, the day he becomes a man, but can't seem to learn his portion.  In fact, he is petrified that he cannot do any of it. This role is played with great zest by Max Zuppa, who is very real and almost seems like he could be a Neil Simon character.  His mother Essie (a powerful performance by Rengin Altay) is a stay-at-home Mom who feels her younger son may be a little slow, but he is after all her adorable baby.  Nate Roman (Chicago veteran Keith Kupferer showing his ability to be tough and sweet) is a strong, hard working veteran who was never able to get the college education that his eldest son Rob (deftly handled by Ian Paul Custer) is getting.  He knows the value of the rites of becoming a man and challenges his Billy to get it done. The action of this play is set on Erev-Erev Rosh Hashanah, which would make it the night before the night before the Jewish New Year, the High Holidays.  As the family prepares for the holiday, Rob comes home to advise his parents that he has dropped out of college and become a folk singer.  He wants to head out west and build his career.  Of course, Billy has informed his dad that he doesn't want his Bar Mitzvah at all and there is great turmoil within the family as they look for answers and truths as to what went wrong in their lives.  Rituals that have followed families throughout the centuries are looked at differently today.  Are they needed?  Is the relationship between father and son, grandparent and grandchild more important than that one day ceremony that supposedly transforms a child into an adult, just like that? Traditions are a wonderful thing and as Tevye says in "Fiddler on The Roof", "Our traditions tell us who we are and what God expects us to do".  As beautiful as that may be, the relationship between a parent and child and siblings themselves should be more important than the ritual of a ceremony.  I recall my Bar Mitzvah and the learning process as well as getting the new suit and the party to follow.  Was all this for me?  No!  It was for the family.  It was so all those who my parents gave gifts to could now come and give gifts back.  It was for all the relatives to share that shining day with my parents.  Once the ceremony was over and the reception line took place, I could have left and no one might have noticed, just as Rob states in his story. The story that Gross has to tell has some deep meaning and some very funny moments.  I just wish he had eliminated some of the Jewish clichés that do little to tell the story with all the meaning and soul that it has deep within it.  The overall picture that is painted by Gross and Robman is better created with the textured lighting by Michael Philippi and Ray Nardelli and Joshua Horvath's sound design.  Nick Sandys handles the fight sequence with his usual flair and the musical interludes brought to the production by Jon Spiegel are fitting.  There is an unusual twist to the Bar Mitzvah, which is to fall on the third weekend of November, and each character does have a somewhat happy ending, happiness being what each interprets as such.  This may be one of those plays that will allow for the character growth over the run and perhaps some of the clichés will fall to the side of the road along the way. "High Holidays" will continue through November 29, 2009 at The Goodman Theatre located at 170 N. Dearborn.  Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m.  No performance on Thanksgiving.  Tickets range in price from $15-$40, which is a true bargain for live theater and can be purchased at the box office, by phone at 312-443-3800 or online at www.GoodmanTheatre.org.  MEZZTIX is a special program that allows for ten $10 tickets for each performance to be available  for students.  What a great value!  Available on the day of performance.  Use the promo code MEZZTIX.   About Alan Bresloff Alan Bresloff, once an actor himself, has been covering the Chicago Theater Scene since 1993, first as the Theater and Arts critic for LaRaza newspaper, then with Salsachicago.com and then onto Extra Newspaper and The Epoch Times.  He also writes for ElImparcial and TeleGuia.  His reviews can also be seen on www.theatreinchicago.com.  Alan does not call himself a "critic" but a "reviewer" as he tries to educate the reader about theater itself, what is a good value, what to look for in a play or musical and more.  "Exposure to theater is a very important part of a young person's life" he says. "Learning about the arts and culture is in fact learning about life" and he tries to explain more in his reviews than just if it is good or bad.  Even some of the poor productions have some value, he often says and he would love your feedback on shows that you have seen.  You can write him here or at albresloff@sbcglobal.net.