‘Black Jew Dialogues’
Black Jew Dialogues
Warehouse - Main Stage
Remaining Performances:
Thursday, July 17 @ 5:00 PM; Friday, July 18 @ MIDNIGHT
Saturday, July 19 @ 9:30 PM; Sunday, July 20 @ 2:30 PM
They say: “Who knew that rednecks, slavery, bar mitzvahs, and chicken livers were so funny! Hilarious multimedia romp of sketches, improv, theatre, and video, which reveal the absurdity of prejudice and hate. Has toured the US and UK to rave reviews.”
Sheffy’s take: No, Sammy Davis Jr. is not talking to another black Jew. This show (whose title is missing a “/” between “Black” and “Jew”) stars improv comedians Ron Jones (the black guy) and Larry Jay Tish (the Jewish guy) in an abbreviated version of their Dialogues. This must-see Fringe treat puts “PC” back into ethnic stereotype.
I hate to admit it, but I usually force myself to laugh at stand-up comedians because I can’t actually figure out what everyone else thinks is so funny. Not here—I didn’t have to fake a single snigger in what was easily the most entertaining Fringe show I’ve seen to date. The personalities portrayed by the talented Jones and Tish, their hand puppet alter egos, their racist-but-adorable-granny costumes, and even pre-recorded video projections of themselves that join the conversation fill the stage with enough racists to populate a grand jury in Louisiana. The key to comedy is timing and every movement has been carefully engineered to allow the actors to zip through a myriad of characters—to squeeze it all in, they talk right over their incessant costume changes. As they try to catch their breath between sketches, pre-recorded street interviews illustrate the cultural gulf they are trying to bridge.
As a well-traveled touring show, the performance is almost rote, yet at times they seamlessly switch to improvisation. Aside from an outdated Barry Bonds quip, the references are not yet stale, but there’s room for new material. A word to the wise: the theater was close to full, and it may sell out as word spreads. If you come early to claim a seat, a slideshow of witty aphorisms and black/Jew trivia whets your appetite.
Despite starting the show by telling audiences to “Turn off your cell phones; turn off your prejudices,” making comedy about racism without offending anyone (besides rednecks) takes chutzpah. They succeed because they earnestly want to engage the community in a dialogue about race and culture, and their commitment shines through.
See it if: You liked Avenue Q but didn’t understand that the “monsters” were people of color… or if you want to learn how to wear a yarmulke on a Fro.
Skip it if: You’ve got something else so important that you can’t take an hour from your busy schedule…I’m not your mother so I can’t tell you what to do, but you’re only hurting yourself (and you’ll be haunted by Jewish guilt for the rest of your life).
Tags: Black Jew Dialogues, blacks, improv, Jewish, multi-media, puppets, racist
July 18th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Dear Sheffy;
Thanks for your super-duper review and I’m so glad you enjoyed the show.
best,
Larry
July 19th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Hey,
The performers were definitely nice people that I would not mind having a chat with. The performance itself was fine, but in my opinion totally mainstream; nothing ‘fringe’ about this. Moreover, the moralization was just far too explicit to have any effect on me European, but I know that Americans tend to be not that disturbed by that. To summarize: great show for primary school kids, not that great if you actually want to have a scintillating artistic, aesthethic or intellectual experience.
July 21st, 2008 at 11:56 am
Lior’s comment is in the right vein. However, judging by conversations with my friends after the show, I know I wasn’t the only American in the audience who found this piece disappointing artistically, theatrically, comically, politically - you name it. Judging by the review and sold-out performances, I had been hoping to be amused at the very least, but I found myself forcing laughs instead of being genuinely tickled by any subtle, edgy, or insightful commentary on race in America. It saddens me that a performance billed as encouraging dialogue on race did nothing more than trot out tired clichés and bad acting. Instead of creating an actual piece of artwork with a story line, character arcs, believable conflict, or any sort of ambiguity - any of which would have made the piece more engaging, meaningful, entertaining, and potentially effective - the creators offered us superficial observations via one-dimensional role-playing, so intent were they on beating us over the heads with a blunt object to make sure they delivered their “message.” (And what message was that: that in a play about tolerance, there remains room for unself-conscious sexist remarks and mockery of a group of people whom the review flippantly referred to as “rednecks”?) Not only did this performance fall far short of my expectations, but it is likely achieving nearly the opposite effect of its stated goals. People who choose to attend this play, that is, those who may be inclined from time to time to acknowledge and become uncomfortable with their own racism, could go to the “Black Jew Dialogues,” see that they do not subscribe to the ridiculously cartoonish racist beliefs described by the protagonists and their interviewees, and leave feeling better about themselves as people, thereby being less inclined to devote any time to self-reflection, true dialogue, or civic engagement that might actually address the racial crisis that persists in this country.