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The New Jewish Theatre

The Last Seder- Andrea Braun, KDHX

The Last Seder
Reviewed by Andrea Braun for KDHX

If you're in the mood for a story about a holiday miracle (and who isn't these days?) then go to the New Jewish Theatre and celebrate The Last Seder. This really is "a wonderful life,"emphasis on the "wonder," even if it doesn't take place at Yuletide; rather, it's in the spring, which is fitting on several levels because here are beginnings, as well as endings.

Director Doug Finlayson has pulled off a little miracle of his own by shepherding 11 people around the small stage at the Mark Twain Theatre, most of them members of the Price family: The Alzheimer's disease stricken father, Marvin (Richard Lewis) and his wife and now caregiver, Lily (Nancy Lewis); their four daughters, therapist Julia (Ruth Heyman) who is expecting the Price's first grandchild with her partner, Jane (Kate Frisina); attorney Claire (Michelle Hand) and perpetual fiancé, Jon (Richard Strelinger); art teacher and frustrated artist, Michelle (Nicole Angeli) who picks up a stranger, Kent, at Penn Station to be her "date" (Tyler Vickers); and Angel, nee Amy (Cara Barresi) who is soon joined by Luke (Robert Moore) the boy next door for whom she still pines. Another neighbor, Harold Freeman (John Contini) rounds out the celebrants.

This is, without question, one of the best ensembles I've seen in St. Louis. Everyone is note perfect in his or her part, and my only question about casting involved John Contini. He is such a big talent that it seemed odd that he'd play a minor character. But, he really isn't. Harold is enormously important to this story, and it takes an actor of Contini's stature to make him as memorable (and magical) as he deserves to be.

It was fun to see Nancy Lewis with her hair down, literally and metaphorically, since Lily has taken up swearing to let her emotions out. Lewis often employs a rather formal technique in her portrayals (and to be fair, many of them require that) but here I found her completely believable and sympathetic as a wife and mother in the throes of the most difficult period of her life. Richard Lewis is terrific, but it's hard to separate him from his most recent role at NJT in Chaim's Love Song, a lesser play, but an equally fine performance. I felt like I was watching Chaim with dementia at times. Still, the expression of confused affability he wears when he's not in a rage or being paranoid is heartbreakingly real.

The sisters do seem like siblings as they arrive as capable professional women (except Angel who is still a wanderer) but turn back into the children and rivals they once were when the family reunites. The best prop in the whole show is a set of Barbies belonging to Julia who gets into a funny fight with Claire when Claire tries to take them. A nice moment comes with Julia and Jane playing with the dolls, telling Ken, "Hey, you're pretty cute. Got a sister?" Angeli carries a lot of the weight as "daddy's favorite," and the one most distressed, at least outwardly, by his condition, but she's up to it. Hand and Heyman are both amazing actors and their chemistry is palpable. Barresi's part is not as meaty as the others, but she acquits herself well.

The biggest surprise, to me anyway, is Vickers. He is sweet, vulnerable, disappointed, hopeful; in other words, he creates a fully formed, three-dimensional person on that stage with less material than the women and Marvin have. He embodies the tradition of sharing Seder with a stranger, but to Marvin, he is no stranger. Vickers has been working a lot lately, and I always enjoy him, but he was outstanding here. Strelinger has a number of nice moments as the eternally frustrated Jon to whom the controlling Claire is afraid to commit, and college senior Moore shows that the Webster University Conservatory knows how to train actors.

The play itself is a magical mystery tour through an unconventional Seder with a group of "really reformed" Jews, as Lily puts it where a miracle does indeed occur. And while Marvin says he's been dreaming of angels and bells are involved, there are no pixies here ready to fix everything. But the bells signify the true miracle of this Seder meal, its beginning and end. Fortunately, there is a denouement which allows us to dry our tears before leaving the theatre, but as I looked around, there were plenty of audience members still sniffling and wiping eyes.

What actually happens is open to interpretation, but I'll leave it to you to peel back the layers and decide what you think really goes on at the last Seder in the home shared by the Prices since early in their marriage. And Dunsai Dai's set, while looking rather simple, is truly multipurpose. Beds, tables (seating everyone) a kitchen-all that and more is either depicted or suggested. Glenn Dunn's lights define the spaces and guide us to which action takes precedence at any given time because everyone is busy living in unison, as people do. At one point, we're both in the house and at the seashore in the same space. And neither one seems far-fetched.

Everything about this production is first-rate. Congratulations to Finlayson, the cast and crew, and Kathleen Sitzer, Artistic Director of NJT, for this achievement. I did hear some complaints about language and sexual content, so be warned if you have delicate sensibilities, but I'm guessing you don't if you read KDHX reviews. Take an evening out of your holiday revels to see this one, and remember the NJT is dark on Fridays.