"Polish Joke" at Spotlighters: Heritage is the Punch Line

SHOW INFORMATION:  Through June 29.  Fri and Sat at 8PM, Sun at 2PM.  Go to www.spotlighters.org or call 410-752-1225 for more information and ticket reservations.

 

◊◊ 1/2 out of five.  2 hours, 15 minutes, including intermission.  Adult themes and language.

I always find writing a review like the one you are reading very difficult, because it is hard to explain how you can like aspects of a production and still not like the play, which is the case with Polish Joke, the latest offering from Spotlighters Theatre.  For purposes of clarity, when I talk about "production," I'm referring to the actual staging at Spotlighters – technical things, direction, the acting.  When I am talking about the "play," I am referring to David Ives' Polish Joke – the script, its themes, etc.  In this case, the production, while not excellent, is far better than the material of the play it is doing.

For director John Sadowsky, directing this production is a very personal journey.  At least that is what one gleans from his heartfelt and very open director's notes in the program.  In it, he talks about Americanizing his name, and the notion of needing to "pass" as anything but Polish, so embarrassing is the stigma of being associated with that Eastern European country.  Clearly, the experiences that emphasize those ideas are a part of who this director and his family are, and therefore, it is more than likely that he understands the intricacies of the playwright's episodes than your average theatergoer.  Personally, I think that the whole notion of having to "pass" is one worth exploration and is full of theatrical possibility.  And while the play has its moments of sincerity, too often it relies on its titular Polish jokes, turning it into a series of sketches not unlike an episode of the old TV show Perfect Strangers or Saturday Night Live.  One has to wonder if David Ives really wants to represent his heritage in such a way, especially since not too far into act one, most of the laughs fall flat as we are desensitized to every stereotype and by stupid joke after stupid joke.  More seriously, the style undermines those moments that make Ives' important point.

Sadowsky's direction, like his personal attachment to the material, is very earnest.  It seems he has gone out of his way to be theatrical in his presentation – minimal sets (designed by Wes Floyd) and costumes (designed by Nan Miner) that heighten the unreality of most of the scenes – and yet each scene also has an air of seriousness/over sincerity to it, almost as if in his head he is reliving these moments along with the characters.  It is an odd mix that works better in the more serious moments, but only adds to the weakening of the themes in other scenes.  That said, while the play drones on and on and feels like every bit of two plus hours, his actual staging has a brisk, seamless quality aided by nice lighting effects (designed by Matthew Klein) and an energetic cast.   But, unfortunately, drone on is exactly what the play does.  Once it hits a certain pitch and rhythm, that's it.  It stays there.  Mr. Sadowsky doesn't help matters, though, by having his actors yell (I am being literal, not hyperbolic here) every single line.  That volume, with no fluctuation, has the same mesmerizing, i.e. fight nodding off, effect as entire plays spoken in a whisper and monotone. 

Finally, the first scene, a flashback to the main character's childhood, which is the set up for the entire play, has been set up for failure because of an unfortunately bad directorial choice that pulls the focus from the action to a prop.  In the scene, the wise uncle has himself a beer, into which he cracks a raw egg and tops with salt.  After the "eews" and other shrieks of disgust die down, the rest of the scene becomes a watch and see for the audience.  He punctuates each bad Polish joke with a swig from the beer.  Each time he does, the audiences reacts, waiting to see if we will be witness to the egg going down his throat.  In the scene, we find out why little Jasiu's life as an adult will be spent trying to pass as anything but Polish.  But I am willing to bet that 95% of the audience spent the rest of the play thinking he hated being Polish because the jokes, the beer and the hanging kilbosa are all that embarrass him, which is not the case.  Had Sadowsky maybe not had clear glass beer mugs, we would care less about the beer level vs. the egg and more about the real issue, cultural identity.

Much to Mr. Sadowsky's credit, he has assembled a very talented cast of actors, most of whom play at least 5 characters, no easy task at such a pace and volume.  One imagines the cast leaving the stage after the curtain call and collapsing on cots backstage.  While they are playing way over the top stereotypes (a mixture of play and production, I fear), they all manage to create very distinct characters. 

Fred Nelson is a hoot in his opening scene character, the uncle to little Jasiu.  And while he does, in fact, yell every single line, and he is saddled with the scene stealing beer, he still manages to make an impression.  Brian Douglas is equally humorous in all of his parts, but is a particular standout as the Priest, who councils seminary student Jasiu, in one of the play's most meaningful scenes.  He even manages to navigate sections of the scene – pertaining to sex and swearing – with skill that makes their intrusion much less than it could be.

Mary Schmidt, in broad characterization reminiscent of Carol Burnett, scores every time she is on stage, but is most effective with the surreal qualities of Portia, a human resources specialist who "outs" Jasiu as Polish, and as the Florist, in a scene that waivers between reality and the Twilight Zone.  Her acting is so sharp that it makes the entire scene easy to follow and enjoy.  Jill Venderwelt gets to play the craziest array of characters, and appears to be having a great time doing so, particularly as Magda, the little Polish girl, dressed in the Polish flag and clearly smitten with Jasiu.

John Dickson, who plays Jasiu, has the longest journey in the play, going from an awe-struck age nine to adulthood, including all of the bumps in the road.  He is a very appealing actor, with an honesty that reminds me of old Jimmy Stewart movies.  That facet of his acting alone grounds the play and keeps it from yelling its way to stratosphere.  Still, the over the top direction, coupled with the over the top script, effect his performance the most, and I left wondering how much better he would have come across if the emphasis was less on Polish stereotypes and more on the central theme of the piece.

That emphasis had me thinking long and hard about Polish Joke.  How does a whole nationality of people feel about being represented by mean stereotypes?  Were this play called Jew Joke or Black Joke or Gay Joke, and all it did was portray the stereotypes associated with those cultures, Spotlighters probably wouldn't present it.  And if they did, they would probably be shut down for it.  Maybe I'm being sensitive, but on behalf of Polish people everywhere, I'm offended.  Maybe the joke's on me.

PHOTOS by Amy Jones.  TOP to BOTTOM: Brian Douglas (seated) and Fred Nelson; Jill Venderwelt, John Dickson and Fred Nelson; John Dickson and Mary Schmidt.

 

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