Steve Budd’s face shows how he feels in Oy, What They Said About Love. Photo by Michael Prine Jr.
By WOODY WEINGARTEN
Steve Budd, in Oy, What They Said About Love, is committed — to not being committed.
Throughout the amusing and heartbreaking 70-minute solo performance at The Marsh Berkeley, he desperately wants to find The One, his beshert, his soulmate.
And he does. Momentarily.
The 50-year-old’s relationship is at best tumultuous — on and off, on and off again, on and off once more. From Kenya to Boston. From ultra-hot to icy.
The Oy in the title should be a dead giveaway: Budd’s clever one-man show is Jewish-oriented.
In it, he sings snippets of Hebrew songs and prayers, occasionally inspiring some audience members to do an impromptu unison sing-along. He also tosses in a handful of words that might not be familiar to every theatergoer. Like schmutz (dirt), traif (non-kosher), and shiksa (non-Jewish female).
The Oakland-based actor/writer/storyteller/standup comic embodies his own being and that of his wannabe wife, a strikingly beautiful Black émigré from Africa. She’s everything he desires in a woman — except she’s not Jewish. She’s willing to convert, however, and wants to have “Einstein kinky-haired kids” with him. Going from one tribe to another wouldn’t be a big deal, she submits.
Budd, a white-haired guy who knows exactly how to comedically utilize his rubbery body and face, explores commonalities and differences in relationships, and why his fail while others succeed. He also illustrates his bumpy journey by morphing himself into the personas of both genders of friends he’s interviewed.
He depicts, for example, Connor and Sarah (an interfaith couple who met at a Halloween party) on an escape trip to Canada, a visit to an Emergency Room because of an ear infection, and a heartfelt, long-withheld utterance of “I love you.”
He shows Gaby finally accepting Matt as her partner, after having met not cute but on Craigslist, by lowering her expectations.
He exquisitely describes folks through their own words. “He does not know how to blow his nose quietly,” for instance.
He also details his mother’s death. And switches the om chant to one emphasizing the word mom.
Steve Budd’s relationship crumbles. Photo by Michael Prine Jr.
The monologist’s acting chops have evolved enough so there’s no need for props or costumes or a set. The stage, indeed, is barren except for a chair and two undecorated blocks on which to sit. Infrequent lighting changes and recorded music do add some atmosphere.
Budd’s journey — directed by Mark Kenward and Kenny Yun —is at once funny and agonizing. And he displays it all while wearing a simple shirt with hoodie, darkish trousers, and old-fashioned black-and-white sneakers.
But, oy, he weaves his own written words into a narrative so real that it’s easy for the audience to visualize each character in his theatrical stockpile.
Oy, What They Said about Love will run at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley, through Oct. 25. Tickets: $25 to $35; reserved seating $50 to $100 (plus a convenience fee of $3 a ticket). Info: 415-641-0235 or www.themarsh.org.
Sherwood “Woody” Weingarten, a longtime voting member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle and the author of four books, can be contacted by email at voodee@sbcglobal.net or on his websites, https://woodyweingarten.com and https://vitalitypress.com.
