Theater Review : Graced With Witty and ‘Beau’ Gestures

When a Jewish woman dates a non-Jewish man over her parents’ objections, she has three basic options: She can stand by her man, break up with him or work out the religious differences.

But in “Beau Jest,” playwright James Sherman gives her a fourth choice: She can hire an actor to impersonate a Jewish boyfriend for her parents while she sees her non-Jewish boyfriend behind their backs.

And when she finds out just minutes before her parents arrive for Shabbos dinner that the actor with the Jewish name is not Jewish, the plot is propelled into high anxiety.

Does he know what lokshen kugel is? Will his brief stint in “Fiddler on the Roof” save him when he’s asked to say a prayer over the wine? And how quickly can he recover when he discovers that she also told them he’s a heart and brain surgeon?

The deft and disarming production of “Beau Jest” at Lamb’s Players Theatre in this city just south of San Diego illustrates why the show had such a successful three-year, Off-Broadway run. The show has endured criticism in regional theater productions for its facile, happily-ever-after sensibility. It is light, but it’s also quite funny, with sharp insights about growing up lurking in the froth.

When it was staged in L.A.’s Westwood Playhouse just last year, the question was also raised as to whether it would even play for non-Jewish audiences.

It does. And the proof is that it’s not the premise one would expect to find at Lamb’s, a one-time Christian theater troupe. But it illustrates the broad appeal of the show and of Lamb’s, which has been subtly widening its scope over the years.

Under the expert comic direction of associate director Kerry Meads, the company does the material well and with authenticity, making it fun for Jews and non-Jews alike. Certainly it helps to be Jewish to know that Bob is in for a shock when he innocently and enthusiastically heaps the horseradish on his matzo at the Passover Seder.

But you don’t need to be Jewish to get “The Foreigner”-like humor of a man locked into an alien environment on the basis of a lie that he has to maintain with increasingly comic contortions.

Cynthia Peters starts the play off right as Sarah, the uptight, passionate Jewish daughter, crazy about her boyfriend Chris, a potential throwaway part played with dignity and weight by Dan Holsenback. You’ve got to be on Sarah’s side for this crazy idea to work, and her sweet but manic “I Love Lucy”-ish inventiveness has you rooting for her immediately.

But the whole cast works together beautifully, melding seamlessly into the fine ensemble work for which Lamb’s is justly noted.

Mike Buckley plays Bob, the actor pretending to be the fiance, with ingenuous charm. Steve Gallion conveys the cool but caring skepticism of Sarah’s divorced therapist brother. And Trina Kaplan and Daniel Mann are the bagels and lox of this buffet, equally funny when kvetching over parking spaces or joining forces to induce guilt in the children they love.

Mike Buckley’s set, nicely lit by Rick Mittleider, inventively extends Sarah’s cozy Chicago apartment to three of the four exits of the theater-in-the-round stage. Monica Helzer’s fine costume design is at its best with Sarah’s stylish outfits.

It all adds up to a handsome and amusing production by a playwright whose mastery of good--and occasionally wise--jokes makes him well worth watching.

* “Beau Jest,” Lamb’s Players Theatre, 500 Plaza Blvd., National City. Wednesday-Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Ends Aug. 13. $17-$21, discounts for groups, youth, seniors and active-duty military. (619) 474-4542. Running time: 2 hours. Mike Buckley: Bob

Steve Gallion: Joel

Dan Holsenback: Chris

Trina Kaplan: Miriam

Daniel Mann: Abe

Cynthia Peters: Sarah

A Lamb’s Players Theatre production. By James Sherman. Directed by Kerry Meads. Set: Mike Buckley. Costumes: Monica Helzer. Lights: Rick Mittleider. Stage manager: Dalouge Smith.