Danny Boy: Dating Games

It's not every day you walk into a theatre greeted by a jazz arrangement of the Israeli national anthem, but Brian Gelfand's jaunty arrangement might well serve as a mating call on New York's Upper West Side, described as "the Jewish single girl capital of the world" in Marc Goldsmith's smart, funny and touching urban romantic comedy, Danny Boy.

"Aside from my personal and professional life, everything's perfect," says Danny Bloch (Stephen Jutras), a single, intelligent, professional Gothamite in his 30's who suffers the dating curse of being a nice guy.  Though he has goals ("…to get laid by a really hot girl – for free!") Danny is intensely shy around women because he stands around four feet tall.  His mother, Sheila (Joan Poust), tried ignoring his son's stature while raising him, never exposing him to other little people and as a result Danny has never had friends who share his particular challenges. 

"What have you got in common with those people?" Sheila shrieks when Danny tells her he wants to attend a Little People Association conference.  And though the line gets a big laugh it also says something about the types of communities people seek for mutual support. 

Danny has issues with other women in his life.  His close friend Dori (Deshja Driggs-Hall) once rejected his romantic advances, claiming they would be incompatible.  Instead she dates a parade of big, attractive guys who are nowhere near her intellectual and emotional maturity.  Her current beau is Danny's slacker buddy Gabe (Troy Hall), who coaxes Danny into ditching his usual modus operandi  ("Become her friend… never make a move…. be miserable") and asking out Allison (Sarah Schoenberg), the sexy bubble-headed babe from his office. 

Though Allison genuinely likes Danny, her motor revs into high gear when she finds out he's been working part-time as a department store elf.  It seems Allison has a fetish for role-playing and costumes.  Though she's perfectly sweet to him, shows him respect and he knows she's attracted to his personality and brain, Danny can't help feeling embarrassed when Allison keeps asking him to dress up in his elf outfit for sex.  For her it's harmless play, but for him it's something deeper. 

And just when you start thinking the play is specifically about the problems of little people, we find Allison has her own issues regarding her looks, as does Trent (Kris Bratton) the guy Danny saw as a rival for her affections.

Goldsmith's charming, insightful script and director Christopher Goodrich's detailed staging seamlessly flow from urban wit to broad shtick to touching, poignant moments.  Jutras is a loveable everyman in the title role with some devastatingly quiet touches of pathos.  He and Driggs-Hall, in a scene where Dori desperately tries to avoid telling Danny why she doesn't want to date him, are both heartbreaking in their understated emotions. 

Gabe, Sheila and Allison may seem like familiar types, but each is given a fresh edge that keeps them from becoming stock characters.  Gabe may be dumb, but he's not stupid, and Hall's crisp comic timing shows us an underachiever who is smart enough to always see the positive side of life.  Schoenberg's Allison is a comic pussycat who can make sense out of twisted remarks like, "I'm totally supporting myself, except for rent."  And though Sheila certainly fits the Jewish mother mold, Poust shows genuine pain in her misunderstanding of her son's needs.  Bratton also does nicely in his small role, a seemingly confident guy who hides a mess of insecurities. 

Festivals like the Fringe are generally known for presenting wild, offbeat productions, making a play like Danny Boy seem conspicuously normal.  Danny Boy doesn't shock or even titillate, unless you consider clever lines, a heartfelt story, sharp direction and characters you care about to be adventurous theatre.  Come to think of it, in that respect Danny Boy may be the most offbeat Fringe show to come along in quite some time. 

Photo by Jenn Miller:  Sarah Schoenberg and Stephen Jutras