Gimpel Tam

The National Yiddish Theatre—Folksbiene is presenting Gimpel Tam at The JCC (334 Amsterdam Ave. at 76th St., New York City). This new musical adaptation of the famous short story by Isaac Balshevis Singer (known to English readers, via its translation by Saul Bellow, as "Gimpel the Fool") has been written/directed by Moshe Yassur, with songs by Radu Captari; music direction by Zalmen Mlotek. The show is being presented in Yiddish (the language in which Singer created the original story), with English supertitles. Yassur also directed show's world premiere last year in his native Romania, where it continues to play.

Gimpel (who lives in a mythical Eastern European shtetl in the early 20th century) is a naif, an innocent—a trusting soul who wants to believe in the goodness of man, who wants to forgive rather than extract vengeance upon those who mistreat him, no matter how much mistreatment he endures. He accepts what his Rabbi says: "It is better to be slow-witted all the time than to be wicked for an hour." Yassur says he has felt particularly drawn to this theme because he is a Holocaust survivor; as someone who could not believe that society could go wrong (even as authorities were rounding up he and his fellow Jews to execute them), he can identify with the situation Gimpel is in.

The very first notes played by clarinetist Dmitri Slepovitch—rich with life, sentiment, emotion; he is a wonderful player—drew me in. And I watched with interest, as Massur's faithful stage adaptation of Singer morality tale leisurely began to unfold. But much as I wanted to love the production, and as rewarding as occasional moments were, the show as a whole felt episodic and repetitive.

The role of Gimpel is played with warmth and sincerity by Adam Shapiro. But Gimpel's reactions never vary. He is upset, for a bit, each time he is mistreated; but then he decides to forgive, to accept, and to move forward. No matter what people might say or do to him, he will continue to take it. Whether you choose to view Gimpel as a saint or as a doormat, the problem is that he does not seem to grow or change; his reactions are utterly predictable. And that does not make for good drama. Or for a very interesting protagonist. So you wind up with dull patches.

Daniella Rabbani has a more interesting role, playing Gimpel's sultry, sensuous, cynical wife, who is cheating on him with one man after another. And her portrayal—whether she is speaking or singing—is fascinating. Harry Peerce delivers a nice turn as the village matchmaker. Writer/director Mazur gets big, satisfying performances out of both of them. I'm glad to have seen their work. Rewarding, too, are slice-of-life scenes with the earthy, ordinary people of the village, gossiping, bantering, just passing time; such scenes, while not essential to the plot, are evocative, and ring true. Roger Hanna has created a simple but effective set, using just a few trees and gravestones to suggest a locale. This is a fairly big production, with 14 actors and four musicians. I enjoyed the music. And Mazur has caught well Singer's gentle, subtle, sense of humor. But the short story works better than this full-length musical adaptation.

Chip Deffaa
Cabaret Scenes
December 11, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org