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| L-R: Lauren Annunziata and Jeremy Rishe in THE SABBATH GIRL. Photo by Carol Rosegg. |
Observant Orthodox Jews refrain from doing any work on
the Sabbath – and they construe “work” to include even activities as trivial as
turning on an electrical appliance or changing a light bulb. That can, of course, create problems on Saturday
when some unanticipated need to accomplish some forbidden task arises. Enter the “Shabbos Goy” – a non-Jewish
neighbor or friend ready and willing to come to their rescue.
Seth (Jeremy Rishe) is a 32 year old divorced Orthodox
Jewish-American currently living on the Upper West Side, having “emigrated”
from his “ancestral” community in Riverdale subsequent to the dissolution of
his three year old quasi-arranged marriage to a nice Jewish girl from a good
Jewish family. Here his “Shabbos Goy” of
choice had been his Korean neighbor, Mr. Lee, but Mr. Lee has unexpectedly
moved out. And his new neighbor, as it
turns out, is Angie (Lauren Annunziata) a very attractive Italian-American art
gallery curator who has a great eye for art but not nearly as good an eye when
it comes to boyfriends.
Angie’s latest art discovery (and relationship misstep)
was Blake (Ty Molbak), a 31 year old hotshot whose considerable artistic talent
and sex appeal were more than outset by his narcissism, arrogance and outright
untrustworthiness. Which brings us back
to Angie and Seth.
Superficially, at least, the two would appear to be polar
opposites. She is a single Italian-American
woman, cool, sharp, secular, passionate, forward-looking – just what one might
expect of the curator of a trendy art gallery in Chelsea. He is a divorced Jewish-American man, awkward,
religious, traditional – just what one might expect of the co-owner (with his
sister, Rachel) of a knish shop on the Lower East Side. But beneath the
surface, Seth and Angie actually have more in common than one might ever have
imagined: they are both lonely, intelligent, charming and compassionate – and
ripe for the discovery of their own “b’sherts” (the Yiddish term for that which
was meant to be).
And so it is not surprising that Angie becomes Seth’s new
“Shabbos Goy” or better yet, his Sabbath Girl, (the title role in The Sabbath Girl by Cary Gitter,
currently enjoying its New York City premiere at 59E59 Theaters on East 59th
Street in midtown Manhattan). Of course
the road to true love never doth run smooth, not even for “b’sherts,” and Seth
and Angie have their hurdles to overcome, not the least of which is Seth’s
knish shop partner, his well-meaning devout older sister Rachel (Lauren
Singerman). But they are helped along
the way by Sophia (Angelina Fiordellisi), Angie’s romantic, magical
grandmother.
The theme of The
Sabbath Girl, revolving around the romantic relationship between a nice
Jewish boy and his “shiksa goddess,” may not be remarkably original, but it can
make for wonderful entertainment. And
this variation on that tried and true theme is especially charming, not only
because it is very well-written but because the play’s entire ensemble cast is
simply terrific. Lauren Annunziata is
outstanding as Angie as she allows the cool artificial exterior of her hip
persona to be peeled away, disclosing her truer self. Jeremy Rishe is equally good as Seth,
conveying his tortuous struggle in reconciling his religious convictions with
the demands of his heart. Ty Molbak
provides great comic relief as Blake, the Fonz-like hip artist who manages to
command Angie’s attention, at least temporarily. Lauren Singerman as Rachel, may be the best
yenta I’ve seen since Molly Goldberg, expressing her own struggle between her
devotion to her faith and her love for her baby brother. And Angelina Fiordellisi as Sophia adds just
the right touch of magical wisdom to tie it all together in one very
entertaining show.
