Word: shlemiels
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...musical in a unified and resounding chorus. With actors half in two costumes, a clarinet player nearly leaping off the stage and an energy that defies all known limits of family gatherings, it is a shame that such intensity is wasted on the absurd and over-the-top musical "Shlemiel the First...
Though the entire company of 'Shlemiel' devotes every ounce of enthusiasm during the two hours for which the musical stretches, the play itself falls short of the strength and depth the individuals offer. The adaptation is as uninspired as it is silly, and the an absurdity does little to compensate for the lack of substance...
...Shlemiel the First" is the tale of a dim-witted beadle who is recruited by his town's wise men to spread the teachings of the almost as dim-witted sage, Gronam Ox (Charles Levin). The foolish sages, (or sage fools) persuade the poor man and his dreidel to travel the world for three years "and a Wednesday," hoping that his missionary trip will bring fame and recognition to their home town, Chelm. After much hemming and hawing, Shlemiel's wife and family permit him to set out on his journey, but the man never gets very...
...Singer's morality tale here is not expanded or satirized; rather, it is presented and left to lie like cold chicken soup, sans matzoh balls, vegetables or even chicken. The adaptation fails to challenge the audience in the slightest, and is not even successful in its irreverence. Much of 'Shlemiel' simply insults both the audience and the material, dumbing down the satire and accenting the novelty in the concept of a quasi-Yiddish musical...
...Shlemiel the First" is in fact meant to be novelty, and little else. Wives battle their husbands; men cross-dress; pickles and common Yiddish expressions are tossed around as stage gags. The trite phrases and cliched idioms that dominate prove poor substitutes for content. The company is forced to play out their roles with over-enthusiastic and sometimes spastic fervency...