Sid Solomon and Rachel Moulton in a scene from "The God of Isaac" at Florida Studio Theatre. MATTHEW HOLLER PHOTO/FST
Though it is at times frustratingly simplistic and glosses over some major transitions in the storytelling, James Sherman’s “The God of Isaac” is a charming, humorous and thought-provoking exploration of the best way to reconnect with your roots.
The play returns to Florida Studio Theatre where it was last staged 20 years ago. It may be more relevant today amid growing signs of anti-Semitism on college campuses across the country.
The play was inspired by a true and controversial event. In 1977, an American Nazi group announced plans to stage a march in Skokie, Illinois, a heavily Jewish Chicago suburb that had a large number of Holocaust survivors at the time.
It was that incident that prompts the play’s main character, Isaac Adams, to begin wondering how the Nazis’ plans should impact him, how involved he should be to fight the group and what it means to be Jewish. His Jewish education ended after four years of Hebrew school and his bar mitzvah. His family was culturally Jewish, especially when it comes to food, but not necessarily religiously observant.
Marina Rey plays the mother of the main character in "The God of Isaac" at Florida Studio Theatre. MATTHEW HOLLER PHOTO/FST
The audience is watching the play Isaac wrote about his experience, but at the start, the engaging actor Sid Solomon apologizes to the audience because, unexpectedly, his mother has shown up to see what her son has been working on. He’s sure things will go awry and from the start, she starts speaking up from her seat in the audience.
From there, Sherman takes us through a series of vignettes in which we get to meet Isaac’s new, non-Jewish model wife, Shelly, his longtime friend Chaya, and various Jewish men and women who guide him or provoke his adventures.
Sherman plays off stereotypes, particularly of an overly concerned and judgmental Jewish mother (played with spirit and the right guilt-inducing tone by Marina Re). But those stereotypes seem to apply to a variety of religions and ethnicities, which is what helps to make the play universal.
Aside from Solomon and Re, the other actors play numerous characters, frequently in some funny and clever Jewish riffs on classic scenes from movies or books, from “Huckleberry Finn” to “On the Waterfront,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” “My Fair Lady” and “The Wizard of Oz.”
Sid Solomon and Eric Hoffmann in Florida Studio Theatre's production of "The God of Isaac" by James Sherman. MATTHEW HOLLER PHOTO/FST
In a sense Isaac, is like Dorothy on his journey to find a wizard who can guide him to the life he wants to live.
Rachel Moulton primarily plays Shelly, a confident, spirited woman who begins to question her relationship with Isaac once he starts reconsidering his beliefs and faith. She’s a bit grating in her attitude, perhaps to better contrast with Rebeca Miller, who plays the sweeter-natured Chaya, a more grounded woman who is going through her own transitions in life and marriage.
Eric Hoffmann is a joy as Isaac’s longtime rabbi, who offers books for answers, a Hasidic Jew, Isaac’s father, and, most movingly a tailor and Holocaust survivor. And Kevin Cristaldi shows off a fine range as several of the movie characters and an ill-informed representative of the Jewish Defense League.
There are times when we miss seeing the incremental discoveries that Isaac makes that move him forward and cause a growing rift with Shelly. He’s just changed. But director Kate Alexander does a fine job keeping the show spirited yet grounded on the attractive set designed by Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay that somehow suggests a kind of religious timeline.
And no matter your faith or beliefs, you can follow Isaac’s story with interest because most of us are looking for a way to connect to where we come from and the world at large.
THEATER REVIEW
"THE GOD OF ISAAC"
By James Sherman. Directed by Kate Alexander. Reviewed Aug. 5, Florida Studio Theatre Gompertz Theatre, 1247 First St., Sarasota. Through Aug. 21. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org
