Judy Gold in '25 Questions for a Jewish Mother'

Judy Gold in 25 Questions For A Jewish Mother
Written by Kate Moira Ryan with Judy Gold
Directed by Karen Kohlhaas

Original Set Design, Louisa Thompson; Original Lighting Design, Jennifer Tipton; Original Sound Design, Jorge Muelle; Production Stage Manager, Damon W. Arrington; Exclusive Tour Direction, Off Broadway Booking

Performances through December 31, 2007 at The Huntington Theatre Company's Calderwood Pavilion
The Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St., Boston
Box Office 617-266-0800 or www.huntingtontheatre.org

Imagine yourself seated in a darkened auditorium when you hear the voice of Gold telling you, no commanding you, to enjoy the show.Yes, none other than Ruth Gold, mother of the performer, comes over the sound system to remind you to turn off your cell phone and take pleasure in the work of her daughter. Now that's a good Jewish mother!

Emmy and GLAAD Award-winning comedienne Judy Gold introduces us to her own mother and about a dozen others as she takes the stage in 25 Questions For A Jewish Mother to clear up, once and for all, what is a Jewish mother. Although she is standing up there by herself, Gold evokes a cast of characters (Oy, such characters!) to illustrate that there are as many definitions as there are Jewish women with children. She tells their stories with love, laughter, tears, and more than a little sarcasm, but makes each one moving in its own way. Even their differences reflect a commonality, a shared humanity and world view, if you will. As a genus, they are strong, protective, loyal, righteous women of faith. As individuals, they can be judgmental, unforgiving, and infuriating, but we find something to love in them all.  As Gold says in her opening, "I love my mother, I just don't want to become her."

Gold and award-winning playwright Kate Moira Ryan embarked on a five-year journey across the country interviewing Jewish women of all ages, ethnicities, and occupations to see if there actually is a Jewish mother stereotype. Gold herself states that she wanted to find out how she fits into the world of Jewish motherhood. After all, she is gay and a comedienne, not to mention 6'3" tall. As Ryan said, she doesn't "seem to fit the stereotype." They compiled a list of questions and began by interviewing the mothers of Jews they knew. "These interviews were only supposed to be twenty to thirty minutes, but they were going on for hours. I don't know what we were thinking, because there's absolutely no way any Jewish mother can answer twenty-five questions in a half hour," Gold comments.

Thanks to the lighting design by Jennifer Tipton, Gold moves seamlessly from comedy club to theatre to interview session with a simple blue or white spot to isolate her downstage. Louisa Thompson's set consists of a standup microphone stage right for Judy to use in her nightclub act and a single club chair shared by the succession of mothers stage left. Her costume is a simple periwinkle blue blouse over flowing black slacks and, presumably, sensible black shoes. Props are imaginary, such as the phone represented by the hand with thumb and pinkie extended held up to the side of the head. Jorge Muelle's sound design allows it to ring on cue and gives clarity to the numerous answering machine messages that Ruth and Judy leave for each other.

Intermingling anecdotes from her own life as daughter, partner, and parent with the results of their research, Gold regales us with the trials and tribulations of her relationship with Ruth. From communicating through Ann Landers columns taped to the fridge during adolescence, to coming out as a lesbian, to announcing her pregnancy, each event provides fodder for the humor mill. Yet, 25 Questions For A Jewish Mother is so much more than a monologue because Judy Gold has an amazing capacity to slip into the skins of her interviewees. Every time she seats herself in the club chair, her demeanor and accent morph into another fully-developed character with a heartwarming or gut wrenching story to share. Some of the questions and answers are short and sweet, such as "Who is your favorite famous Jewish mother?" (Gold dreamt that Barbra Streisand was her real mother and does a funny bit with "Don't Rain On My Parade") and "What would you do if you didn't have kids?" Then there are the more highly charged subjects like "Do you approve of your kids' choices?"  and "Would you sit Shiva if your child married a non-Jew?" The actress becomes these two Orthodox women, the first of whom sabotaged a daughter's romance with an unwanted suitor and the latter who lost a child to AIDS. When Gold takes the chair as her own mother to share a story of loss, never before revealed to her, you could have heard a pin drop. 

The show is extremely well constructed and flows at a good pace. Like her mother's disembodied voice, Gold is a commanding presence on the stage, but she envelops the audience in a big, warm embrace, much the same as she does with her material. It is exceedingly obvious that she learned a great deal about herself and her relationship with her mother and her two sons throughout the course of this project and she succeeds in demonstrating both her growth and the intensity of her feelings. 25 Questions began as a one-note tune, but developed into a poignant symphony about faith, families, and the journey of motherhood. I expected to find lots of laughs in this 80-minute presentation, but was surprised to be exposed to such a wealth of real human stories, told with honesty, love, and respect. Ultimately, it is a paean to Jewish mothers and, if you know what's good for you, you'll go to see it. Is that so much to ask?

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