Reviewed by Jeffrey R Smith of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle<\/p>\n
Josh Kornbluth is best described as the Woody Allen of the West.<\/p>\n
Presently Josh is performing at the Ashby Stage a.k.a.<\/em> the Shotgun Players.<\/p>\n Most of his previous work consisted of monologues delivered below street level (The Hungry Id (sic<\/em>) in San Francisco and La Val\u2019s Subterranean in Berkeley).<\/p>\n Now, merely twenty years into the business, Josh no longer descends below the sidewalk to get to the stage to perform in the case of SEA OF REEDS.<\/p>\n The fulcrum of SEA OF REEDS is his dilatory Bar Mitzvah at the sagely post-adolescent age of 52, four times the Hebrew National average for such ceremonies.<\/p>\n Josh explains, that as the son of communist parents, he spent his early years being a non-Jewish Jew and it wasn\u2019t until he became a father that he became a humanist Jew believing that the collective imagination of man was actually God.<\/p>\n Assuming Josh is correct, God\u2019s primary residence in Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n As prescribed by tradition, Josh is directed by his presiding rabbi to read a passage from the biblical prophets called the Haftorah.<\/p>\n Because Josh\u2019s ceremony is in July, his reading assignment is from the Book of Numbers, Chapter 25 to be exact.<\/p>\n While most of Israel is hot during July, Josh holds his Bar Mitzvah in the Negev where one can bake matzo on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n In the passage Josh reads, the peripatetic Nation of Israel is temporarily abiding in Shittim; no scatological overtones intended.<\/p>\n Shittim was crawling with Moabite Shiksas and soon some wayward Israelites were dating\u2014to use a PG-13 euphemism\u2014the locals i.e. the Daughters of Moab.<\/p>\n As usual, one thing inevitably leads to the next; it\u2019s a slippery slope: first it\u2019s sidelong glances, then holding hands and in no time, these randy exogamous Israelites were kowtowing to the Pagan Goddess Baal Peor.<\/p>\n Baal Peor, is most politely translated, is the Cleft Deity; some theologians attribute modern pole dancing to her.<\/p>\n This Pagan Fertility Goddess demands rigorous obeisance and specific forms of surrender from her acolytes and votaries; none of which are PG-13 in priggish or civil societies.<\/p>\n As describe in Numbers 25, Baal Peor revelry eventually spills into public view.<\/p>\n Zimri, the son of Salu, and his Midianitish consort Cozbi, the daughter of Zur make a public spectacle of themselves.<\/p>\n Phinehas, Zealous the Grandson of Aaron, is appalled by their exhibitionism.<\/p>\n Phinehas takes a javelin in hand and skewers both Zimri and Cozbi\u2014the woman symbolically through her belly.<\/p>\n Thanks to Phinehas\u2019 moral vigilantism it was believed that a plague was stayed from the children of Israel thereby saving thousands of lives: A seemingly happy ending.<\/p>\n Josh thinks he is expected to reconcile himself to this bit of tabloid zealotry.<\/p>\n Instead, his response is an elegant exhortation for tolerance and it is possibly the core message of the play.<\/p>\n If you go to the play, you owe it to yourself to stopping texting at this point and listen carefully to his Bar Mitzvah address.<\/p>\n One bay area critic has mistaken Josh\u2019s earnestness and sincerity for didacticism\u2014which is apparently a misdemeanor in theater.<\/p>\n The play is filling with amusing boyhood reminiscences of being raised peripherally Jewish without becoming Jewish.<\/p>\n It is filled with intelligent humor without falling back on the usual shticks like sex or politics.<\/p>\n Rather than going solo, this time Josh has Amy Resnick (who starred in Haiku Tunnel with him) to prod him along.<\/p>\n Amy is part director and part surrogate Jewish mother.<\/p>\n A quartet provides musical support as Josh plays the reeds of his oboe.<\/p>\n The play, while not elitist, is sophisticated humor; it prioritizes artistic success well ahead of popular success.<\/p>\n David Dower directs this delightfully entertaining piece.<\/p>\n For tickets call 510-841-6500 or go to shotgunplayer.org.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reviewed by Jeffrey R Smith of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Josh Kornbluth is best described as the Woody Allen of the West. Presently Josh is performing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[837],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6648","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-joe-cillo"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"