Review - The Punishing Blow: Rope A Dope

"I should have taken the jail time," moans the solo character in Randy Cohen's The Punishing Blow, not quite under his breath.

The annoyed college professor, known only as Leslie, has taken his lecturing skills to the small auditorium of the Orange County Public Library, thanks to a creative judge who gave him the option of community service to Make Up For his behavior after a drunk driving incident. It seems that after smashing his car into a gingko tree, Leslie came to jump onto the roof and spew out an anti-Semitic tirade.

Thus, the prof (played by Seth Duerr, who also directs) has been assigned to give a free lecture on any member of author Michael Shapiro's list of "The 100 Most Influential Jews of All Time." It's never explained why he chooses #82, 18th Century English boxing champion Daniel Mendoza; it's even made clear that he has no interest in sports. Perhaps he figured there's be less work involved than if he chose #81 (Arthur Miller), #83 (Stephen Sondheim), #2 (Jesus Christ) or #1 (Do I have to tell you?).

Mendoza's story is certainly an interesting one. Despite being only 5'7" and weighing a mere 160 lbs., he was able to defeat much bigger and stronger men using speed, precision and strategy. In the late 1700s, boxing was a bare-knuckled brawl consisting of two combatants battering each other at a close distance. Mendoza introduced defense to the sport; blocking punches and moving about to avoid them while planning specific attacks. Not only did he change the sport of boxing, he changed the way the English saw Jews, paving the way for leaders like Benjamin Disraeli (#21) to follow.

Armed with a lectern, a dry-erase board and some slide projections, Leslie's talk does little more than offer the basics of Mendoza's life without offering much insight. Though it's believable that the professor might offer the minimal amount of work necessary to satisfy his required service, it doesn't make for interesting theatre.

What isn't believable, and it seriously hurts the play, is Leslie's unchecked animosity towards Jews and towards his audience. Though he pleads the obligatory, "I'm not an anti-Semite," he is continually making wise-cracks like referring to The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame as, "an organization that inspires more mirth than reverence," and reinforcing a stereotype about Jews being money-hungry. When explaining how established boxer Richard Humphries took Mendoza under his wing as a mentor, he snickers at the possibility that "Danny and Dickie" might have been more than just friends. As far as his library audience is concerned, he seems convinced from the start that he is standing before a room full of dullards; at one point talking down to them by impulsively changing a reference to Shakespeare to one about Star Wars. It seems impossible that his fictional audience would just accept his rudeness without one or two of them voicing an objection, or at least several of them walking out.

While there are hints that Leslie eventually begins to admire Mendoza, and the he makes some sidetracks into details of his own marriage, there is no growth in the character, nor much to stimulate interest in his situation. Duerr makes an admirable effort and is quite good at presenting the disgruntled professional trying to get his assignment done as painlessly as possible, but the faulty text conquers his skills by a technical knockout.

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-- Walter Winchell

The grosses are out for the week ending 8/22/2010 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: COME FLY AWAY (9.7%), RACE (6.7%), MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET (4.2%), SOUTH PACIFIC (3.2%), NEXT TO NORMAL (3.0%), THE ADDAMS FAMILY (2.5%), JERSEY BOYS (2.1%), A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (2.0%), THE LION KING (0.1%),

Down for the week was: PROMISES, PROMISES (-10.3%), AMERICAN IDIOT (-8.1%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-6.3%), MEMPHIS (-5.9%), CHICAGO (-5.7%), MARY POPPINS (-4.8%), ROCK OF AGES (-4.5%), LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (-3.4%), BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL (-2.8%), WEST SIDE STORY (-1.8%), MAMMA MIA! (-1.5%), FELA! (-1.3%), IN THE HEIGHTS (-0.5%),