Oy vey! "Beau Jest" at DCT is Fun!

          What struck me most about my first visit to Dundalk Community Theatre is that they run a very professional operation while maintaining a community theatre feel.  The whole theatre area (located at CCBC – Dundalk) is covered with huge signs of shows past – they are in their 33^rd season.  Their box office is high tech, and their refreshment table is decidedly low tech, watched over by smiling church ladies.  And it seems they are as willing to do difficult, challenging pieces as they are classics (the season started with Jane Eyre: The Musical, and ends with Annie Get Your Gun), and they also seem up for doing little known works as well like their current play, James Sherman's Beau Jest.  Having seen it now, I can see why it was chosen – it is light as a feather, has the opportunity for fun roles for local actors, and is very funny while have a little something to say.  I'm surprised it isn't done more regularly in our area.

          The opening night crowd, and I do mean crowd – why don't all community theatres have the community so involved? – was abuzz before curtain time, oohing and ahhing over the set, which is in full view, albeit under dimmed stage lights.  And they were right to do so!  Scenic, lighting and sound designer Marc W. Smith is very gifted.  More than one person was heard to comment, "It looks like a real apartment."  And it does.  Nothing about it looks artificial – the details are amazing – and it is complete down to decorated "rooms" beyond the doors.  Smith, it should be mentioned, also has lit the complicated corners and turn of the set exceptionally well, not a dark spot to be found, and the sound is superb.

           Briefly, the plot concerns Sarah Goldman, the good Jewish daughter, trying to please her parents by introducing them to her boyfriend.  Only, the man she is introducing isn't her boyfriend, he's a paid escort.  Her real boyfriend is not Jewish, a fact Sarah is sure will kill her folks.  What ensues is a two hour comedy of lies, fake identities, and the inevitable reveal of who is who.  They play is very funny, particularly during a roadrunner version of Passover dinner, but overall, it feels more like an average sitcom pilot that has a happy ending rather than a theatre piece.  The audience always knows just when to laugh, and once the situation is set up, you know exactly how it will play out.  But – and this is a big one – I still highly recommend it for the cast, which is just terrific!

          Under the swift, realistic and interesting direction of Rod Clark, the six member cast moves about with ease and acts like a real family.  Much attention must have been paid to the little details – brother/sister kisses, father/son kisses, husband/wife arguments, followed by husband defending wife, etc. etc.  They all are clearly enjoying their time together, and one suspects they have genuine affection for each other.  Beth Berlin, as Sarah, is the perfect girl for the central role.  You genuinely believe her heart is in the right place, even as she makes one bad decision after another.  She has nervousness down pat – it is never too dramatic, and very realistic.  Her "real" boyfriend who has a very funny name in the show, which I won't give away, is played with gentle machismo by Joseph R. Miller, Jr.  His timing is excellent, and his bewilderment at his situation is a scream.  Sarah's brother Joel, a psychiatrist, is played very close to the vest by Mark Macaluso, letting his suspicions out as the plot thickens.  Christopher Briante, playing the "boyfriend for hire", Robert, is a real anchor, and probably the lead role (the ensemble is so tight that I hesitate to single anyone out as the lead).  His character, a "legal" male escort, hired to escort old ladies to the opera and such, is also an actor.  You can imagine the trouble that gets everyone into as he "gets into his role."  Briante has hairpin timing, and that guy next door look that makes you want to believe every lie coming out of his mouth.  To his credit, Briante plays his part so well that his character and the audience realize together that he is falling for our heroine.

           But in a comedy about Jewish families (like Italian families or Greek families) really hinges on just how much chutzpah the older generation of the family has, and this play has struck gold with its Miriam and Abe Goldman.  Harriette Bush Clark is an absolute delight, walking the fine line between loveable and pain in the ass.  (Who's mother isn't a little like that?)  She pours on the charm when meeting what she has decided is her future son-in-law, and rules the roost, barking out cooking orders to her hostess daughter.  Then of course is her hilarious take on Jewish guilt – with a simple turn of her head and shoulders, she puts the rest of her family to shame.  Funniest, and most touchingly, is her give and take with Saul Clark-Braverman, whose kind older man demeanor belies a sharp tongue, a temper and a I-wish-my-wife-would-stop-nagging-me hang dog look.  He is every bit the equal to his wife, and also knows how to sling the guilt.  His performance during the Passover dinner scene steals the show, earning extended laughs and applause.  Best of all, both actors give equal weight to the strength and love of their characters' relationship – they clearly love and respect each other.

          Ok, so it isn't brilliant comedy, but it does what good theatre does.  It leaves you satisfied and better for the experience.  And 33 years and huge local crowds clearly mean DCT is doing something right. 

PHOTO: (L to R): Beth Berlin, Mark Macaluso, Chris Briante, Saul Clark-Braverman and Harriette Bush Clark.  Courtesy of DCT.

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