Word: shlemiels
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...some cases the actors surpass their own script and achieve the seemingly impossible task of carrying 'Shlemiel' to a higher plane. Benjamin Evett who plays the mischievous Chaim Rascal as well as the Chelmish sage Dopey Pretzel, when not stealing Shlemiel's latkas is doing the same with the stage. Comfortable and at ease with the silliness with the lyrics, he sings with the glee of a Puck and the energy to match the Klezmer Band's clarinet. Also exceptional are the buffoon Gronam Ox and his wife Yenta Pesha (Marilyn Sokol). Shlemiel himself (Will LeBow) is shlemiely enough...
...highlight of the ART's "Shlemiel the First" is truthfully the pit orchestra that will not stay put, The Klezmer Conservatory Band. This eight-piece ensemble grounds an over-the-top and shaky production on a solid yet raucous foundation. Providing more than enough energy to keep the musical moving while simultaneously sparking the audience into fervent rhythmic clapping, the Conservatory Band is the only element in the production which is successfully (and brilliantly) larger-than-life. Even taking time to march around and across the stage, the virtuosos never come off as contrived or absurd; they are the pulsing...
...song by Aaron Lebedeff. Here Mlotek and musical adapter Hankus Wetsky are successful where Brustein fails; they masterfully adapt the familiar melodies and lyrical stories which are so much a part of Yiddish culture into vibrant and enjoyable pieces which augment and respectfully recognize their source. The music of "Shlemiel the First" is as thoughtful as it is hilarious; it is fun, but not hollow...
Towards the end of the production, it almost seems that the music unifies the disparate elements of 'Shlemiel' and carries the musical to success. Grandmothers and small children alike stomp their feet and clap their hands with enthusiasm-and the entire audience joins the players in a sort of joyous festival. Because everyone has come to enjoy the production, the goofiness of 'Shlemiel' doesn't annoy such a sympathetic crowd. Its silliness and the exhaustion of one-liners in a skewed way adds to the twisted or morbid fascination that it evokes...
With players who are nothing if not warmly enthusiastic and eager to ham up the absurdity, the ART's "encore performance" of "Shlemiel the First" is much like a family gathering. With two hours of somewhat shallow comedy, the love of relations (if somewhat distant and misunderstood) is still love. And it's good as long as you don't try to ponder the event the next morning...