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`The Immigrant'

Mark Harelick's play makes a return
pre-season visit to JET

Greg Trzaskoma as Haskel and Mary
Bremer as Ima in "The Immigrant."

AUDREY BECKER
Special to the Jewish News

fter the show closed last sea-
son, JET received so many
calls for tickets to Mark
Harelick's The
Immigrant, the company
decided to remount this
popular production, directed
by John Michael Manfredi.
The Immigrant is the playwright's tes-
tament and tribute to his Russian Jewish
ancestry. Inspired by his grandmother's
photograph album, The Immigrant
reminds us of the often-dark truths
behind the cliche of the "American
Dream." Immigrating means not just
aspiring to a better life, it means re-con-
ceiving identities, shifting alliances and
making unsettling compromises.
The year is 1909 and Haskell Harelik
— expertly played by Greg Trzaskoma
— has immigrated to the unlikely spot
of Hamilton, Texas, population 1,200.
Haskell, who speaks only Yiddish at first,
is an unmistakable optimist despite his
layered black clothes that are inappropri-
ate under the southern sun.
Peddling for pennies, he drags a heavy
cart of bananas across the stage — a
"Tevye" in Texas. Trzaskoma successfully
balances the comic moments with the
underlying somber notes, making
Haskell complex by establishing him as a
man not simply amiable but naive, cau-
tious and, to some degree, self-hating.
Haskell is befriended by Milton and
Ima Perry, the town banker and his wife,
played by real-life spouses Arthur Beer
and Mary Bremer. They are exquisite in
their roles, emphasizing the Perrys'
strengths — Christian kindness and gen-
erosity — while at the same time gradu-

A

Audrey Becker is a Detroit-based critic.

ally revealing their vulnerabilities.
Like Haskell, Milton and Ima know
the sorrows of being separated from fam-
ily. It is a bitter knowledge that links all
of the characters in the play.
As Haskell thrives, he saves his money
to send to Leah, his wife back home.
With a noticeably intermittent Yiddish
accent and an excess of melodrama, Carey
Crim turns out a comparatively poor
performance as Haskell's weepy, whiny
wife. We can hardly believe that Harelik
intends her to be this unsympathetic.
When Leah joins her husband in
Hamilton, she finds herself feeling pro-
foundly alienated. It is here that the
playwright explores one of the funda-
mental questions of the drama: What
does it mean to be a Jew in America?
Haskell readily forms a com-
munity with his Christian
neighbors; Leah, however, clings
more tightly to Jewish traditions.
The play treats its central themes with
admirable forthrightness, especially as it
asks us to explore the difference between
courage and cowardice; between obliga-
tion and gratitude; between charity and
responsibility., between Christian and Jew.
However, the play's second act is
uneven. Harelik — in his effort to pay
homage to his ancestors — attempts to
tell too much of the story. The play loses
focus as it stretches uncomfortably to
epic proportions.
When Leah's three pregnancies go by
in rapid succession, the tone shifts radi-
cally into something akin to farce.
Neither the playwright nor the director
is able to make credible the 30-year leap
into the World War II era, and we are
left with a feeling of distance from rather
than intimacy with the characters.
Nevertheless, Harelik's chronicle of
his family's personal history gives us a
valuable and compelling glimpse into the
universal experience of immigration,
with a Texas twist.

❑

The Immigrant runs 7:30 p.m.
Wednesdays, Thursdays and
Sundays, 8 p.m. Saturdays and
2 p.m. Wednesdays through
Sept. 17 in the Aaron DeRoy
Theatre at the West Bloomfield
Jewish Community Center.
$10-$26. (248) 788-2900.

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DON'T MISS "OLD CAR FESTIVAL" SEPTEMBER 9TH AND 10TH AT GREENFIELD VILLAGE.

The Jewish Ensemble Theatre
proudly announces the return of
the smash hit from the 1999-
2000 season

Performances
Wed. 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.,
Thur. 7:30 p.m.Sat 8 p.m.,
Sun. 7:30 p.m.

In The Aaron DeRoy Theatre

For ticket information call

248-788-2900

fax: 248-788-5160
Jewish Ensemble Theatre
6600 West Maple Road
West Bloomfield

as

8/25
2000'

75