Review: TWO JEWS WALK INTO A WAR. . . at Theater J

The concept behind Theater J's latest play, Two Jews Walk into a War. . ., is a good idea in theory: a comedy about the last two Jews in Kabul, Afghanistan, based on the real-life men who famously argued so much that even the Taliban grew tired of their bickering and expelled them from prison to avoid having to be around them. In fact, this concept is so intriguing, that playwright Seth Rozin notes that there were two other plays covering this topic before he ventured to write his own, though neither seemed to take hold. Rozin hoped that the third time would be the charm. It's unfortunate that he's wrong.

I hate to be so harsh, but perhaps it comes from my own disappointed expectations. I worked on the Sephardi Voices oral history project during college, and have been long fascinated by the history of the Mizrahi Jewish population. Likewise, my friend who joined me for this performance is of Iranian Jewish descent, and has been researching into her heritage of late. Mizrahi stories are so often overlooked, and this felt like an opportunity to explore the Jewish experience outside of the context of the Holocaust, which is all too often the only lens through which we examine modern Jewish history.

And yet, right off the bat, our hopes for a play examining the rich, centuries-long history of the Jewish people in the former Ottoman Empire was dashed, with the two men, Ishaq and Zeblyan, bringing up their families' experiences in the camps and their decision to emigrate to Afghanistan after the war. Since nothing in any of the research I could find suggests this was a known piece of either man's known family history (and Zabulon Simentov, upon whom Zeblyan is based, has been in international news quite a bit, especially in recent years after the Taliban's resurgence led to his being evacuated from Kabul), it seems that this was creative license - and a disappointing missed opportunity to reflect on a Jewish community that existed outside of Europe. In fact, research and cultural sensitivity were consistent issues with this script, despite the presence of Cultural Competenecy Consultant Humaira Ghilzai. I was astounded to hear Ishaq's character claim the parchment roll Zeblyan rescued from the dumpster near the butcher would be tainted with pork products - as though anyone living in Afghanistan (or indeed, anyone with even a passing knowledge of Islam in general) wouldn't know that pigs are non-Halal as well as non-Kosher. I suppose it could have been meant to be humorous, but it was so incredulous that it didn't really come off that way.

But okay, let's put aside these critiques - not everyone is aware of Mizrahi history or the basic tenants of one of the world's most popular religions - and examine the play itself. According to the marketing of this play, it's meant to be a vaudeville, though I couldn't identify anything that matched the definition of a vaudeville performance, given that vaudeville has traditionally referred to a mixture of comedy, song, and dance skits. A quick Google search will insist that those comedic elements are meant to be light-hearted and trivial, none of which describes the production in question - the short scenes are filled with flat attempts at snark and humor, as well as heavy-handed Talmudic conversations that are as deeply insightful as a puddle. Even the conversations about the two men's commitment to maintaining the Jewish community in Kabul is superficial at best; without any acknowledgement of the community's roots, and the only references to their lives before their tenure as caretakers coming in the form of attempts to out-do each other's losses, it's unclear why they would stay, a foundational piece to what the play is presumably trying to tell us. But, even if the show were able to achieve the level of sophistication it aims for, it wouldn't fit the category of vaudeville, making the designation puzzling. In fact, the closest it seems to get is a few attempts at laughs, and the Klezmer (aka: Ashkenazi-influenced) music Sound Designer Sarah O'Halloran opted to play between scene transitions. Quite frankly, the attempt to call this a vaudeville and the title joke feel incredibly disconnected from the actual production on the stage.

Then there's the scenes themselves. While the two-member cast, made up of Sasha Olinick and Bobby Smith, make a good effort, the comedic elements fell flat enough that the audience was mostly silent, save the occasional chuckle. The climax scene was mildly interesting at best, and nearly everything felt too long - a bad sign for an 80-minute production. The tone was also inconsistent, with the actors spending some scenes engaging with each other and others performing more directly to the audience. Worst of all, it all felt performative, as though the audience could see the effort going into the performance. The only unobjectionable elements were Ivania Stack's servicable costumes and Jonathan Dahm Robertson's set, which featured a beautiful, broken bimah.

This was all particuarly surprising since this play was directed by Theater J's former Artistic Director, Adam Immerwahr. Immerwahr oversaw some incredible works at Theater J, including last season, which was filled with fun, passion, and careful stagecraft. Besides the surprising choice of returning to direct a play that seems to contradict his efforts as Artistic Director to challenge assumptions about Judaism and the Jewish community, this production also fell short of his standards in skill and tone. This production, with its stilted direction, awkward grasps at laughter, and dragging, repetitive scenes masquerading as clever, is a world away from the quality of work I've come to expect from Immerwahr.

While I was excited for the topic of this play and the chance to explore other aspects of Jewish history and community, I can't help but be incredibly disappointed that Two Jews Walk into a War. . . manages to only retread oft-explored grounds, and fails to even do so in a unique or particularly insightful way. Even putting that level of disappointment aside, the weak production elements and inconsistent tone make for a production that's far below the standards I'd expect from Theater J.

Two Jews Walk into a War. . . runs at Theater J through February 5th, 2023. Run time is approximately 80 minutes with no intermission. Tickets and additional information can be found on the Theater J website.

Photo Credit: Sasha Olinick as Zeblyan and Bobby Smith as Ishaq in Theater J's production of Two Jews Walk Into a War..., playing through February 5. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.

To post a comment, you must register and login.