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Feb. 8, 2008
Old-time humor comes to life
The JAP Show and Lipshtick revive Jewish comedic traditions.
RON FRIEDMAN
Question: How many Jewish American princesses does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: Only one. She holds the bulb and the world revolves around her.
Fans of such old-style comedy – and modern variations of it – have much to look forward to in the upcoming Chutzpah! The Lisa Nemetz International Showcase of Jewish Performing Arts, which starts in Vancouver at the end of the month. Among the festival's many shows at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, there will be two ensemble performances, which will include skits, stand-up and improvisational routines.
"I love performing in front of a Jewish audience," said Cory Kahaney, the motivating force behind The JAP Show. "It's always a smart audience and a tough audience. They appreciate good humor and challenge you to do your best."
The JAP Show brings together a few of today's funniest Jewish comediennes in a tribute to the great female performers of the 1930s and '40s. "The JAP Show is sort of like a walk down memory lane, a look at the first female comics, who just took to the stage with nothing more than a microphone, and told jokes ... and when I looked into the history, I found out they were all Jewish," said Kahaney.
The show, which also features the talents of Adrienne Tolsch and Jessica Kirson, intermingles stand-up performances with vintage comedy by the likes of Belle Barth, Jean Carroll, Betty Walker and Totie Fields. The clips were dug up from radio archives and old television programs like The Ed Sullivan Show, The Steve Allen Show and The Tonight Show. In between segments, the performers give humorous accounts about the pioneering women, talking about their personal life and the challenges of performing as women in a male-dominated genre.
"If women were the slightest bit racy in their performances, meaning if they spoke about their bodies or their bodily functions, they wouldn't be allowed to perform in the Catskills resorts that made up the Borscht Belt. So instead, they got their start in the seedy clubs of New York," explained Kahaney.
The JAP Show started in March of 2007 and ran for six months in New York City. Following that run, the ladies took the act on the road and performed in Miami Beach, Fla. "We had a cool mix of audience members, mostly made up of older Jewish women and younger gay men," said Kahaney. "It seems like the two sectors enjoy a similar sense of humor."
The show runs between 80-90 minutes and, at the end, audience members are encouraged to come on stage and share their own JAP jokes and stories.
The JAP Show opens the Chutzpah! festival on Saturday, Feb. 23, 8 p.m., at the Norman Rothstein Theatre, and encores on Sunday, Feb. 24, at 1 p.m.
For lovers of improvisational comedy, Chutzpah! also offers Lipshtick! A Lipshitz Brothers Show. Local actors Dan Hershfield, Toby Berner and Aaron Read come together as the Lipshitz brothers – Shteve, Shimshon and Sheki – who were separated from each other in childhood and are now set to come together again to form an ensemble. "We wanted to do something with a Jewish theme and came up with the gimmick of a family act, echoing those that were common in 18th- and 19th-century Europe, " said Hershfield. "Pretty soon, the gimmick became the motor of the show."
Improv theatre allows an interactive relationship with the audience. In order for an improvised scene to be successful, the actors must work together responsively to define the parameters and action of the scene, in a process of co-creation.
"The good thing about improv is that there's always a surprise – for the audience, but for us too," said Hershfield. Since the show is only loosely held together by its narrative, every time it's performed it will be a little bit different. Hershfield described the story as a quest but, since everything in the play is subject to extemporization, he's never exactly sure what the quest will be or what will be its outcome.
Lipshtick has its première on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 8:30 p.m., at the Wosk 2nd Stage at the JCCGV. They have two other performances: Feb. 27, 8:30 p.m., and March 2, at 6 p.m.
For more information about Chutzpah! performers, go to www.chutzpahfestival.com. For tickets to all Chutzpah! performances, call 604-257-5145 or go to www.ticketstonight.ca.
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