Play Review: One Jewish Boy [SPOILERS]

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One Jewish Boy is the last show of the season at Theater J. at the Edlavitch DCJCC. I knew it was a love story, so I was looking forward to seeing what was in store for the night. The general gist is that the audience follows the ups and downs of a relationship between two Brits, a Jewish boy and mixed-race girl. He has lasting trauma from an antisemitic attack he experienced, and she carries the weight of her intersectionality as a light-skinned black woman. They love each other, but sometimes the heaviness of their backgrounds induces conflict between them.

The program for the play included stats about antisemitism both in the US and the UK. It was disturbing to read some of them: in 2022, an average of 10 antisemitic incidents a day occurred in the US, the largest number since 1979. And comparing the viewpoints between Americans and Brits, Brits are more likely to hold opinions such as, "Jews still talk too much about the Holocaust" or "Jews have too much control over the global media." For most of my life I have not worried about being Jewish, but during Trump's presidency and afterward, so much hate has come to the surface that now I think twice about wearing a cute Chanukkah shirt or my baseball cap that reads "Nationals" in Hebrew. It was sad to see these statistics come to life in this play in showing how such a visceral experience of this character impacted not only him but his relationship with his wife (and potentially with his son, too). 

The setting for the story is multiple locations around the world. As usual for Theater J, the set was minimal but very effective. "Furniture" consisted of four movable cubes that were used as chairs, tables, benches, etc. There was also an open staircase that was mostly used to show the early times of the couple's relationship, meeting on a yacht in Ibiza or smoking weed out in the fresh air. The mostly open set allowed for good stage movement of the actors and flexibility in creating different rooms, places, and spaces. 

My favorite part about the show is that it's not linear. The story is told out of order, not chronologically, which is an interesting way to learn about the characters and their relationship. The show begins with the couple fighting, nearing divorce, but then we're bounced around through the years, including when they met, when they got married, when their son was born, all jumbled up. The juxtaposition of the happy scenes portraying young love and the disfunction of a couple who has been together for years was jarring but emotionally moving at the same time. I thought the actors, Danny Gavigan and Alanna Saunders, did an excellent job showing all the emotions along that spectrum. At times it was difficult to watch the couple fighting, as they were talking over one another and pointing fingers, but clearly the acting was good, because the fights felt uncomfortably real! 

I have to admit that I frequently fall asleep when watching plays, not because I'm bored or because they shows aren't good, but just because I'm so tired! But I was fully engaged with this story and did not doze off once! I highly recommend this show, and you've got a few more weeks to see it!

Tickets are still available, so get yours today!