BWW Reviews: Judy Gold Pitches Judy Show, Comedy and a Whole Lot More at the Geffen

The Judy Show/written by Judy Gold and Kate Moira Ryan/directed by Amanda Charlton/Audrey Skirball Kenis Theatre, Geffen Playhouse/through August 18

What can you say about a 6 foot three inch lesbian Jewish mother of two? Well, if she's Judy Gold, she is amusingly offbeat, as quirky as the description sounds and...genuinely funny. Growing up Jewish in New York with all its religious restrictions and where communication consisted of "either no talking or... screaming"... then on top of that to be a girl and exceedingly tall...ouch! You are most definitely out of place, but by no means out of touch, even though the temptation for her may have been to run and hide. Judy's escape? She planted herself in front of the TV, watched sitcoms...and learned. And in the 70s, with All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Brady Bunch, The Partidge Family, Welcome Back, Kotter, to name but a few, what a fun education it was! Now at the Geffen Playhouse, Judy Gold plays out her award-winning The Judy Show extended through August 18, appropriately subtitled My life as a sitcom.

She talks about her wishes and dreams, relating them to the sitcoms, like when she entered high school and hoped unrealistically that every teacher was like Abe Kotter. For her, high school was a real nightmare. She weighs the value of her life based on the feelings and opinions of her dad, deceased for many years, who never knew officially that she was gay, yet somehow had guessed; and her mom, about to turn 91 in a NY rehabilitation home - still loud and feisty and kvetching about Judy being gay with children; and her two lovers, one humorously called Shwendy and her current partner Elyse. She also points out the disgustingly antiquated standards of the TV biz, which has turned down a multitude of pitches to do The Judy Show. Even in 2012, the suits saw it as a great animated series. Will they ever be ready to produce a totally gay show by and about gay people? Take an intelligent guess! How many TV sitcoms or reality shows deal with gay people? Alas, Judy let's it all hang out - thankfully for us theatre folk, on the stage. She sits at the piano, sings a little; there are pictures and slides on screens behind showing her at various levels of growth from childhood to adulthood, and the piece de resistance, is the display, bigger than life of all her sitcom idols. Judy confesses that when MTM set herself free in the big city of Minneapolis, she herself decided to try her luck in NYC. These shows really influenced her life! The 85-minute set is very enjoyable due to the inimitable humor and humanity of down.to.earth Judy Gold.

As an Emmy-winning writer for Rosie O'Donnell, Judy Gold knows what's funny...and a whole lot about comic timing. The best comedy comes from real life, and Judy's honest experiences make for a terribly delightful, laugh-filled evening. As for the TV thing, keep pitching, Judy!

For more, visit geffenplayhouse.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.