Ronelle Grier | Contributing Writer T he loss of a grandmother s corpse on its way to be buried in Israel does not sound like the stuff a romantic comedy is made of, but Handle with Care, now showing at the Jewish Ensemble Theatre (JET) through Dec. 24, is full of pleasant surprises. In this Jewish-style Christmas story, written by Emmy Award-nominated writer and producer Jason Odell Williams and directed by Robert Grossman, Jewish humor and heart are infused with the magical spirit of tradi- tional holiday stories, and the result is both hilarious and heartwarming. (For more about the playwright, see Love, Comedy and Misunderstandings in the Nov. 24 issue of the JN or online at jewishnews.com.) The story, which has been produced off-Broadway and elsewhere in the United States and Canada, opens in a drab motel room on a snowy Christmas Eve in a small Virginia town. An attractive Israeli woman named Ayelet (Annie Keris), who has just learned that her grandmother s body has been misplaced, bursts in and unleashes a tirade of rapid-fire Hebrew. Her target is Terrence (Dan Johnson), the dis- mayed delivery man whose truck was stolen while he went inside a nearby gas station to stock up on snacks. Panicked by Ayelet s ranting and fearful he will lose his job for leaving the key in the ignition, Terrence has called upon his childhood friend Josh (Michael Lopetrone) for help. Because Josh is half-Jewish, Terrence assumes he will be able to communicate with Ayelet, who is talking Jewish, and sal- vage what is fast becoming a disastrous situation. At first, Josh, who lost his wife in a car accident 18 months earlier, is upset because he assumes Terrence is try- ing to set him up with Ayelet. When he learns the real reason he has been summoned, he is even more annoyed, informing Terrence he has not spo- ken Hebrew since his bar mitzvah. Realizing that Ayelet needs help and Terrence is essentially useless, Josh reluctantly agrees to stay, and, despite the language barrier, he and Ayelet manage to find their own form of com- munication, culminating in a make- shift Christmas Eve/Shabbat dinner and some stunning revelations. We learn that Ayelet and her grand- mother, Edna, played in flashbacks by the wonderful Henrietta Hermelin Weinberg, veteran actress and one of the JET s original founders, have trav- elled from Israel to the United States for a road trip. The reason behind this unusual trip, which avoids national tourist sites such as the Statue of Liberty in favor of unremarkable small towns, is known only to Edna. The scene where she finally explains to her granddaughter why she insisted on tak- ing this journey is the most touching moment of the entire production. Weinberg plays the consummate Jewish grandma to the hilt, dispensing wisdom and advice with a generous topping of love, and Keris, Johnson and Lopetrone, all first-time JET per- formers, do a stellar job with their roles. The fact that Keris, a New York actor and Wayne State University s Hilberry Theatre alumnus, had no prior knowledge of Hebrew before she began preparing for the part makes her performance especially impressive. Her accent, exaggerated hand gestures and fast-talking manner are as authentic as they come. Set designer Leo Babcock has done an excellent job replicating a generic motel room, with a door that opens to reveal the usual white-tiled bathroom. The only thing to distinguish the loca- tion of the room is a framed poster proclaiming Virginia is for Lovers. The back wall is a transparent window facing the motel parking lot and a grocery store, a device that is cleverly used to show the snow falling outside and the characters coming and going from the room. The produc- tion is rounded out with sound design by Matt Lira, lighting design by Neil Koivu, costumes by Mary Copenhagen and props by Diane Ulseth. * JET s newest production. 46 December 8 2016 arts & life review Handle With Care details Handle with Care runs through Dec. 24 at the JCC in West Bloomfield. $44; student and senior discounts available. (248) 788-2900; jettheatre.org. 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