Friday, March 16, 2007

Ah, New York's Jewish (?) Milieu

New play out.

Twice the holidays! Twice the hollering! Twice the guilt!..."My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish & I'm in Therapy!" features funny man Steve Solomon in a 90 minute show inspired by his hilarious family and all the people in his life whose sole purpose is to drive him into therapy...and they succeeded. One part lasagna, one part kreplach and two parts prozac, you don't have to be Jewish or Italian to see this show. All you need is to know what it feels like to leave Thanksgiving dinner with heartburn and a headache.


Steve Solomon's one-man show explains the basis of his humor: When Solomon's Italian mother and Jewish-American father fell in love during World War II, they couldn't realize all the cultural misunderstandings to come. The Brooklyn-born comedy writer fills the stage with his extended family and explains how he moved from a successful career as a school administrator to a performer telling stories about his unique—and uniquely funny—clan.


But one reviewer was upset:

If this show HAD an intermission, I would have LEFT. Presented as "autobiographical," this show is a pathetic attempt to weave an assortment of shopworn and completely cliche jokes (you will mouth the punchline before the actor does) into a not-so-thrilling life. There is not one shred of warmth in this play. The characters are insensitively portrayed by Solomon through a smattering of silly, over-the-top voices, facial expressions and accents. I had a very hard time believing that any of the stories are true; they are exaggerated beyond the point of interest. This is one of the most dissappointing pieces of theatre I have seen in a long time. It's barely a stand-up act and has no right calling itself an off-broadway play. Boo!

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