No Need to be Jewish to enter the World of Jewtopia
A couple years ago, I laughed my butt off at the off-Broadway play, Jewtopia. It’s the story of Chris, a nice Gentile guy who decides he wants to meet and marry a nice Jewish girl, but to do so, he needs to pass himself off as being Jewish. Between looking for a possible mate at the Jewish singles mixer at the local synagogue and posting a profile on a Jewish singles dating site, he meets up with Adam, a shy and inexperienced Jewish former neighbor who agrees to keep Chris’s secret.
In return, Adam has been dating non-Jewish girls, but his mom has now forced his hand, and it’s time to find “a nice Jewish girl”. Yet he has no idea how to navigate the world of dating Jewish girls.
The pair teams up to help each other. Adam instructs Chris on how to act “more Jewish”, and getting past meeting the girl’s Jewish mother, while Chris helps Adam work on his new Jewish image and persona.
World of Jewtopia combines the two staring writers/actors in a couple scenes from the play, with some irreverent and effective standup comedy, an interesting multimedia presentation about Jewish culture, and a good dose of audience participation.
The two takes a humorous shots at all kinds of subjects, such as:
- How to get the perfect table when dining out, if there is one.
- How to avoid catching the plague by properly disinfecting your hotel room’s hot zones.
- Classic Jewish foods, if they can even be identified.
- Selecting the perfect airline seat.
- Who’s the world’s most popular Jew. (Great audience participation…but Adam Sandler??)
- Word origins - such as rhinoplastie, German for Bat Mitzvah gift.
And expect a bunch of funny growing up stories, and of course, and the stereo typical portrayal of controlling yet loving Jewish mother.
A couple times I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard, and I’m not Jewish.
The World of Jewtopia
Bethesda Theatre
7719 Wisconsin Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814 (map it)
Dates and Times - Through June 22, 2008.
Tickets - $40.00 - $75.00 and are online or by calling 800-551-SEAT.
Nearest Metro Subway Station - Bethesda - Red line, then a 2-block walk.
Parking - Street and metered garage parking is available at the Cheltenham Public Garage behind the theater.
Images - Jewtopia, courtesy of Bethesda Theatre, theater - from personal collection - ©2008, Jon Rochetti
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6 Comments
Sounds really funny. Any idea if they’re touring with this play?
It was in LA and other cities, I believe, and they are heading to Pittsfield, MA next. Here’s the link to upcomming shows:
http://jewtopiaworld.com/ticketing.html
Did you miss the off-Broadwy show?
Thanks for the tip on what sounds like an excellent show. AlOYha! (get it?)
I did miss the Off-Broadway show! I did recently see “Altar Boyz” Off-Broadway, it’s somewhat similar in that it’s has a faux-religious component.
Off to Mass I go for Jewtopia!
I hear the play may be turned into a movie, plus I’m sure they will revive it someday.
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