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| An American Family | Review |
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A Poignant Slice of Lives Restarted
December 16, 2000
THEATER REVIEW | 'AN AMERICAN FAMILY'
By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
Rich theater, capable of touching the heart, tickling
the funny bone and tapping wells of recognition, sympathy
and suspense while its music sets feet to tapping and
hands to clapping, is attesting to the vitality of the
Folksbiene Yiddish Theater as it begins its 85th season.
The vehicle is An American Family (An Amerikaner Mishpokhe),
a play with music based on Sylvia Regan's 1940 Broadway
production, Morning Star, and adapted into Yiddish by
one of the stalwarts of Yiddish theater, Miriam Kressyn,
who died in 1996. The admirable staging and the music
direction are attributable, respectively, to the Folksbiene's
artistic directors, Eleanor Reissa and Zalmen Mlotek.
Accompanied by English and Russian translations through
headsets, the American Family (through Jan. 21 at Theater
Four, 424 West 55th Street, Clinton) illuminates the Jewish
immigrant experience on the Lower East Side of Manhattan
as it follows the joys and tragedies of a widowed mother
of four through the tumultuous years from 1910 to 1931.
The history incorporating the American dream, the Triangle
Shirtwaist factory fire of 1911, the labor movement, socialism,
the Russian Revolution, World War I, feminist ambitions
and the Great Depression is substantial.
But the ability of An American Family to captivate an
audience is rooted in the way this history touches the
lives of strong, singular characters portrayed by a uniformly
excellent cast and in the play's willingness to embrace
joy and heartbreak.
Much of the pleasure of the light side of An American
Family, which includes plenty of comedy, is the presence
of show business in general and songwriting in particular
as elements of the plot, furnishing a pretext for a generous
helping of lively music and even a bit of dance.
Dominating the evening is Sheila Rubell in a highly praiseworthy
performance as Becky Felderman, the widowed materfamilias
whose children include three most attractive daughters
and Hymie (Cary Woodworth), a son approaching his bar
mitzvah in 1910.
One of the daughters is Fanny (Yelena Shmulenson), a singer
about to marry a theater owner's nephew, Irving Tashman
(Steve Sterner), a talented but not very lucky songwriter.
The others are the sweet Esther (Deana Barone) and her
older sibling, the prickly Sadie (Shira Flam), who sees
little reason why her sex should condemn her, like many
women she knows, to life as a seamstress.
Two triangles galvanize much of what occurs: the one among
Esther, Sadie and the family's handsome and idealistic
young English teacher, Harry Engel (Spencer Chandler),
and the Triangle Shirtwaist fire.
Rounding out the fine cast are the Feldermans' boarder,
Aron Greenspan (Murray Nesbitt), whose pursuit of the
widowed Becky impels him to pursue capitalism as a milliner;
Greenspan's pal, Bronshteyn (I. W. Firestone), the outspoken
socialist who eventually departs for the nascent Soviet
Union; the orphaned Harry's Aunt Malke (Mina Bern) and
Pansy (Raquel Polite), the maid hired for the celebration
of Becky's grandson's bar mitzvah in 1931.
The costumes by Terry Leong are eye-catching, and the
set by Vicki R. Davis, the lighting by Jeff Nellis, the
sound by Jill B. C. Du Boff, the musical sound design
by Henry Sapoznik and the hair and wig designs of Mitch
Ely enhance the history and humanity that make An American
Family such a rewarding evening of theater.
AN AMERICAN FAMILY (An Amerikaner
Mishpokhe)
By Sylvia Regan; adapted by Miriam Kressyn; music direction,
Zalmen Mlotek; directed by Eleanor Reissa. Sets by Vicki
R. Davis; costumes by Terry Leong; hair and wigs by Mitch
Ely; lighting by Jeff Nellis; sound by Jill B. C. Du Boff;
musical sound by Henry Sapoznik; production stage manager,
Allison Deutsch; production supervisors, Kai Brothers
and Dominic Housieux. Presented by the Folksbiene Yiddish
Theater, Ms. Reissa and Mr. Mlotek, artistic directors.
Lisa Kirsch, managing director. At Theater Four, 424 West
55th Street, Clinton.
WITH: Sheila Rubell (Becky Felderman), Yelena Shmulenson
(Fanny Felderman), Deana Barone (Esther Felderman), Murray
Nesbitt (Aron Greenspan), Spencer Chandler (Harry Engel),
Cary Woodworth (Hymie Felderman), Shira Flam (Sadie Felderman),
Steve Sterner (Irving Tashman), I. W. Firestone (Bronshteyn),
Mina Bern (Aunt Malke) and Raquel Polite (Pansy).
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COWGIRLS
