Review: ‘A Jew Grows In Brooklyn'

Monroe resident’s one-man play opens off-Broadway at the Chernuchin Theatre, By Vicki Botta New York - It was only the second night of previews at the Chernuchin Theatre on 54th Street, but all 130 or so seats filled quickly. As a mostly 40-ish plus audience found their way to their seats, it almost felt like an informal family get-together to watch home movies. A small sampling of Manichewitz wine greeted patrons arriving for their tickets. People applauded in fun as several patrons walked across the low-level stage to get to their seats, bowing in good-natured humor. One man asked another, “Do you want to sit next to your wife?” “No, I’ve had enough of her for one day” came the reply. Then the lights darkened over the brick-faced set made to look like somebody’s front stoop in Brooklyn, the music began, and so did an evening of humor, warm vignettes about growing up an immigrant’s son in America and the soulful reflection of what it meant to be a Jew without grandparents, aunts and uncles in a land full of extended families and Christmas carols. Jake Ehrenreich, who lives with his wife and son in Monroe, and who wrote and stars in the one-man show, immediately warms the stage with his youthful smile and appealing rendition of an old Neal Diamond tune, “Brooklyn Roads.” He personally welcomed everyone and asked who was from Brooklyn. Excitedly, the hands shot up and he had them, and kept them for the duration of the show. Whether you are Jewish or not, anyone born in the 50’s, whose family emigrated here from Europe around the turn of the century can relate to feelings Ehrenreich conveyed of wanting to “fit in.” One was constantly reminded of one’s heritage by the thick accents of either immigrant parents, grandparents or great-grandparents and the different traditions they brought with them to preserve that heritage. What was missing from Ehrenreich’s were the grandparents he never knew and other family members who were victims of concentration camps or other aspects of the war. One of the most poignant moments in the show is the video clip of his father telling the story of having to explain to his young son why he didn’t have a grandmother like the other kids in the neighborhood, how his parents “had ten brothers and sisters, but none after the war.” Then his father says: “The best of us did not survive.” Thus, he explained, was the reason for such closeness and the importance of keeping the Yiddish language alive among all of the Jews who came here to escape the evil of Hitler. They reached out to each other as the only family they would know from that point on. But, as a young boy, hearing his Yiddish name “Yankl” called when it was time for dinner made him cringe with embarrassment in front of the friends he so wanted to fit in with at the time. Throughout the show, Ehrenreich shares his walk down memory lane interspersing his own memories with projected images of his family members on the picture window of the brick front of the building showing the different time periods and music from his life. For most of the show, he is upbeat, poking fun at his family and the world he lived in. From growing up in the only Italian family in a Jewish neighborhood in Rockland County, I could relate to his feelings of isolation at Christmas time, where all he heard on the radio was Christmas Carols. We were the only ones with colored lights on our house. Where he felt joy in learning that most of them were written by Jewish people, I was thinking, they even wrote our Christmas Carols. In the second half of the show, if I closed my eyes, I was back in time, still waitressing at the Concord Hotel in Kiamesha Lake between college semesters and sneaking into the nightclub to see one of the shows. The talented musicians accompanying the show gave that very feel to the music that accompanied this segment of the show. Ehrenreich told how these hotels were the perfect places for young musicians to get their feet wet playing with seasoned professionals and even resurrected some of the old jokes. Pictures of old bungalow colonies brought back nostalgic memories and the audience called out names of the places where they had stayed. With a projection of a poolside at one of the resorts, Ehrenreich convincingly became the activities director, even engaging the receptive audience in a game of Simon Says before segueing into the nightclub routine where he demonstrated his musical versatility, by playing trumpet, keyboards, trombone and drums after jumping into his glittery MC jacket. In this very warm and entertaining show, Ehrenreich gives his all in paying tribute to his heritage. And if you’re not Jewish and do not understand the Yiddish songs, the sentiment behind them is still poignant and can be appreciated. He reminds us all of a time in our country’s history when the immigrants who came here wanted to “fit in” and learn to speak English. Today our signs and telephone messages reflect a different way of life. He shows us that we can still laugh at ourselves and not take ourselves too seriously, having to be politically correct. And lastly, he shows us how to appreciate the past, and make the most of the present as we look forward to the future. Ehrenreich has performed on Broadway in Dancin,’ Barnun, They’re Playing Our Song and toured internationally as Ringo in Beatlemania. He created the role of Jonah in Jonah for Joseph Papp at The Public Theater and performed Off-Broadway in Songs of Paradise and The Golden Land. He has also been a featured vocalist at The Rainbow Room, recorded with Richie Havens and performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He has been hailed as “brilliant” by The Jewish Week and “charismatic, sexy and deeply likeable” by the Forward. Director of the show, Jon Huberth, who also lives in Monroe, is a Yale Drama School and Amherst College graduate, and Adjunct Professor of Theater at Manhattanville College. He has directed for the Manhattan Theater Club, Williamstown Theatre Festival and the Weston Playhouse. Jon conducted master classes for the National Shakespeare Conservatory and has written for Sesame Street. The American Theatre of Actors (Chernuchin Theatre) is on 314 West 54th St. between 8th and 9th Avenues in NYC. The show is in limited engagement through May 28. Performances run Tuesdays-Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. & 8 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. & 7 p.m.. Appropriate for ages nine and up. Tickets are $48.50 for adults and $25 for seniors and students with valid ID and can be purchased by calling 212-352-3101 or visiting www.TheaterMania.com. Capacity is 40 seats. Group Sales (212) 531-6231. Running time is two hours including intermission.