BWW Reviews: YENTL Steps Boldly into World of Men in New Musical Adaptation at Theater J

What was a girl to do?

Not complacent to wait on a matchmaker arranged husband and a life of sweeping floors, the independent Yentl chose a different path. The way she chooses is the only path she feels she can take yet is a forbidden path for a woman.

If you are familiar with the original Issac Bashevis Singer short story or the film adaptation by Barbra Streisand, this should ring a bell. The forbidden path for young Yentl is one of education and enlightenment through a Yeshiva where the holy Jewish texts and commentaries are studied and discussed by learned men. According to the very law Yentl burns to study, she is forbidden to do so, as are all women.

The girl Yentl becomes the boy Anshel and she convinces her classmates - and the whole town - she is a serious male student of the Torah and Talmud. In the stage adaptation by Leah Napolin (with Singer's blessing), Yentl's journey into spiritual enlightenment and complicated relationships satisfies and engages the audience to think differently about gender roles and the power of individuality.

The play adaptation first took the stage in the mid-1970s, nearly a decade before Streisand asked the musical question "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" (In fact she asked all the musical questions in the film she produced, directed, helped adapt and star in. Singer was not a fan of the film.)

Washington DC's highly engaging Theater J has brought Yentl and Anshel back but this time in more of a musical form. The original play has been revised adding music and songs by Jill Sobule, from the folk rock and indie rock arena. Sobule wrote "I Kissed a Girl" (not the Katy Perry song) and "Supermodel" (from the soundtrack of the 1995 film CLUELESS). Additional music and lyrics are credited to Robin Eaton, a frequent collaborator of Sobule's and co-writer of "I Kissed a Girl."

How does the music fit in to the production? Comfortably, for starters. Sobule and Eaton's folk and indie roots jive well with the added flavor of klezmer and the old world colors of accordion and string bass. The songs reminded me of a lighter vein of Duncan Sheik's score for SPRING AWAKENING. I will say that most of what I heard in Yentl made for appropriate background music but it did not contain any real stand-outs. Village girls sing of their dreams of wedded bliss in "When My Ship Comes In;" the ladies of the shetl sing "You Are My Sister, My Bride" as they prepare a girl for her marriage day; and Yentl/Anshel turns to the audience at one point and sings "Oh, Shit."

In a poignant moment that echoes the film version, Yentl takes a quiet moment to pray, reminisce about her father and sing the gentle tune "The Last Candle."

The piece as a whole is certainly invigorated by the new score which enhances the storytelling more in a Brechtian commentary manner than a traditional Broadway tradition. The klezmer-rock vibe also says, "It's old Europe, but it's a modern take on the story."

The performances are superb from the central role to the musician/actor ensemble doubling roles and playing instruments throughout the lean but vibrant production.

As Yentl/Anshel, Shayna Blass just has to keep doing what she is doing. With an effortless command of the

stage, Blass handles the fierce determination of Yentl's desire to learn, her confusion with the strange love triangle in which she finds herself, and her manning up (so to speak) in order to convince others she is the man she needs to be to enter the yeshiva.

Michael Kevin Darnall is well-matched to Blass as the study partner and friend Avigdor. As fellow students studying the holy books, Avigdor and Anshel hit it off. Blass and Darnall also convey the strange chemistry between the characters that neither of them can fathom.

Sara Dabney Tisdale is Hadass, the lovely girl who inadvertently comes between the two Yeshiva "boys." Tisdale's looks and demeanor make it easy to believe she is the most eligible virgin in the shetl. The actress also makes the uneasy relationship that blossoms in its own strange way with Yentl-as-Anshel look believable.

Among the other cast members, Amy McWilliams gets a chance to shine in several songs and characters, such as Rivka the matchmaker, and Frumka, the mother of Hadass. Sasha Olnick makes a welcome return to the Theater J stage as Hadass' father and other roles.

The strong ensemble also includes Jesse Terrill, Brandon McCoy, Aaron Bliden, Shane O'Loughlin, Joe Brack, Judith Ingber, Shanta Parasuraman, and Lindsay Elizabeth Williams. Mark Berman is the omnipresent bass player. He is joined by Williams (clarinet), Parasuraman (guitar), Brack (percussion), O'Loughlin and McCoy (accordion and guitar), and Terrill (violin and viola). These actor/musicians aren't just playing rudimentary chords; they are the real deal.

Director Shirley Serotsky keeps the staging of YENTL simple yet engaging throughout the piece. As the audience takes their seats, the men of the yeshiva quietly enter and begin their routine reading and discussion of Jewish law. It is a simple conceit, but it sets the scene for Yentl's entrance and propels the plot into action right away. Serotsky also uses the attractive unit set - a universal depiction of a library - to great advantage. Scenic designer Robbie Hayes' work is enhanced by Andrew Cissna's atmospheric lighting. Kendra Rai's rich costume work immediately places the production in Central/Eastern Europe of the late 1800's.

The beauty and impact of YENTL is that the gender-bending central role is not just a plot device. Singer's Yentl has no other choice but to live her life as a man, in the time and place in which the story unfolds. Theater J knows how to pick pieces with bold themes and this is no exception.

Songlist for YENTL, as printed on the program insert: ACT ONE - When My Ship Comes In (and Reprise); The Last Candle; For Your Kiss (and Reprise); I Hate Girl Things; One Kiss; Jonathan and David; My Sister, My Bride. ACT TWO My Sister, My Bride (Reprise); Oh Shit; Life Goes On Without You; Tomorrow is Breaking; I Am Not Alone

YENTL continues at Theater J's Aaron and Cecile Goldman Theater through October 5, 2014.

Tickets start at $35. Box office: 800.494.8497 or go to theater.org HERE

Theater J is located at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th Street, NW, 4 blocks east of Dupont Circle.

Photo Credit: Theater J

To post a comment, you must register and login.