Theater Review
“Crossing Delancey” originally appeared Off-Broadway at the Jewish Repertory Theater in New York City on April 15, 1985. It was made into a movie in 1988. Twenty years later, does it still make us laugh? Yes, this play is relevant today because of its ageless theme. “Crossing Delancey” is a fun, uplifting evening. The romantic comedy centers around Bubbie, a smart Jewish grandmother who lives on the lower East Side of New York City. Although her granddaughter, Isabelle “Izzy,” works in a bookstore and lives uptown, once a week she comes downtown to visit her grandmother. Bubbie (Michelle Rosen) wants Izzy to find a husband because she feels it not good to be alone in life, and’she wants to dance at Izzy’s wedding. Izzy, a strong-willed woman played by Jean Franzblau, tries to tell her grandmother that she comes from a different generation and that it’s okay to be alone, she doesn’t need a husband, she has her life. It’s clear to see where Izzy gets her determination, because her grandmother is equally determined. Bubbie takes matters into her own hands and hires a matchmaker, Hannah (Geraldine Fuentes). Izzy is distressed not only by her grandmother’s interference, but by the custom. When she meets the intended match, Sam Posner (Tony Cicchetti) a man who’s inherited his father’s pickle business on the lower East Side, she tries politely to tell him that it has nothing to do with him, but that she’s already seeing someone. Working in the bookstore, Izzy has developed an infatuation for a published book author Tyler (David Wright) who comes in to buy periodicals and check on his book sales. Izzy thinks this man could be the answer to all her dreams. Sam, the “pickle man,” is not deterred by Izzy’s polite refusal. He pursues her. Bubbie has taken a liking to him as well and invites him to her apartment in an effort to smooth the way between the two. In many ways Bubbie and Sam are quite a bit alike: both are deep thinkers and tell stories that although are amusing, have deeper meanings. When Izzy finally stops and listens to who the author really is, she realizes the adage “beauty is only skin deep,” applies on many levels, that one has to go beyond the superficial to find the truth. Rosen who plays Bubbie is every person’s grandmother. What a wonderful actress! We want to watch her because she is effortlessly Bubbie. When she sings in her kitchen, it’s not a stage performance, but a grandmother singing in the intimacy of her home. Bubbie’s love of life is so strong, I’m not sure whether it’s the actress or the character and that’s the sign of a professional at work. She goes for broke in this role and it works. Her counterpart, the matchmaker, Hannah, is equally fun. This woman is a snoop, a busybody and yet a member of the community that everyone employs. How do you play a character that is a blessed nuisance? With elan, and that’s exactly what Fuentes does. One of the funniest scenes in the play is when Sam, dressed with clothes purchased from Hannah’s relative, comes to Bubbie’s apartment. The two women zing one-liners back and forth, while Sam tries to decide if he looks well-dressed or dressed like a freak. Playing Sam, Cicchetti is nicely understated. One could understand why a woman wouldn’t notice him. He has heart and intelligence, but that isn’t always the first thing a woman notices. Anyone who saw the movie “Crossing Delancey” (1988) remembers the remarkably shaded performance Amy Irving gave as Izzy. It’s difficult not to compare Jean Franzblau’s Izzy with hers. Theater, with its symbiotic relationship between actor and audience and its immediacy, allows an actor to search and stretch and change the performance from night to night, making this reviewer wish she could see Franzblau perform another night as well. She looked as if she were still searching to perfect the role. Wright is a good actor and I would’ve preferred not to hear the affected speech. The role of Tyler is already written so that the audience gets an idea that the character is self-absorbed and arrogant. The staging is wonderful, given that Bubbie’s kitchen, a book store, and a park bench all have to fit on the small stage. Set designer Jeremy Eason is to be congratulated on his effective, practical and yet lovely use of the space. “Crossing Delancey” runs through December 11 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Rd. Tickets: 454-1970.
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