- With only a few wooden boxes (to sit on) as
a set, Chait creates all the characters of the seven stories.
Essentially this is a story-telling show. But Chait indicates
his different characters through vocal intonations, facial
expressions, gestures, and body language. Accompanying him is the
Israeli violinist Lior Kaminetsky, who plays traditional Jewish
melodies between each story.
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- “If Not Higher,” the opener, is a tale of a
rabbi who seems to mysteriously vanish every year during the time of
the High Holy Days. The villagers say that he has gone to heaven
(although he always returns). A skeptical man, a Litvak (a native of
Lithuania-they were supposed to be cynical and not serious about
religion) spies on the rabbi and follows him to find out just where he
does go. He ends up being pleasantly surprised.
-
- This story is told mostly as a narrative but
in the next story, “The Dead Town,” Chait gives us a dialogue between
two men, one of whom claims to be a citizen of a town where everyone
is a walking dead person. This is an odd story (Jewish literature
actually abounds in stories that would appeal to today’s Goth-vampire
fans) but the humor of it seems muted, not as funny as such a dialogue
might have been if the walking dead man had been played by a Mel
Brooks type.
-
- Similarly, a story called “A Conversation”
is also told as a dialogue but as it deals with religious protocol
during the Passover ceremony, it may be somewhat difficult for
non-Jews and even some Jews to relate to it.
-
- But the remaining stories and Chait’s
interpretations of them are incredible. In “the Magician,” another
mystery man appears in a village, a magician whose gaunt appearance
belies his ability to conjure objects out of thin air. A
poverty-stricken couple benefit from his magic, as they also learn
that sometimes you have to trust a miracle.
-
- “The Poor Boy” is a superb meditation on
charity. This is a monologue about a man who undergoes a test of his
character when he fails to give a handout to a boy who is begging for
food and shelter. Chait shows a range of emotions in this playlet and
audiences will probably relate the character’s dilemma to the problem
we all have when we are approached by transients on the street.
-
- “In the Mail Coach” is again a dialogue
(with stories inside the main story) as a passenger on a mail coach
(the cheapest way to travel in 19th century Europe) listens to two
separate stories by two fellow passenger—and learns that Jewish women
are lonely and isolated from knowledge and life experience.
-
- The finale, “Bontshe Shvayge” is Peretz’s
masterpiece and best-known story. Previously dramatized in the
Broadway play “The World of Sholem Alecheim,” it tells of a man who
lives the most difficult life and dies, only to be greeted in heaven
as a hero. Bontshe, “The Silent” listens in silence as an angel acting
as his defense attorney in an obligatory hearing, tells of the hard
life Bontshe had endured. Like the couple in “The Magician,” he cannot
believe that anyone would want to do something good for him, even in
heaven. Chait’s brief interpretation of Bontshe as he asks for his
eternal reward is priceless—you will never forget the shy smile and
timid voice.
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- While some details of some of these stories
may be hard to grasp and while the pacing overall could use some
livening up, “The Stories of Isaac Leib Peretz” is an engaging time at
the theatre. It will introduce you possibly, to an author who deserves
more recognition in modern-day America. Chait has worked diligently to
produce this show and is to be commended for giving us his
interpretations of Peretz’s world. And there’s no way you will be
leaving without finding yourself humming “Hevenu Shalom Alecheim” as
played by Lior Kaminetsky.
