CROSSING DELANCEY
I’ll get to my review of the actual play, (which, spoiler alert, is another winner for this venue,) in a minute. But I must discuss a few auxiliary things first.
There are several wonderful repeat aspects of this Theatre 40 offering, Crossing Delancey. The best is that once again, they’ve produced an excellent show, with an up-to-the-challenge cast. And, as always, Jeff G. Rack has designed a perfect multi-location set, perhaps even outdoing himself.
Jeff G. Rack’s set. Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the one above.
And then, on the negative side, it was freezing in there the day we went. It used to always be very cold in that theatre, (they don’t control the temperature—they’re at the mercy of Beverly Hills High School, which Theatre 40 is enchantingly underneath,) and then in March, the temp was perfect. And now in May, it’s back to freezing again. So I advise to dress in layers. (At intermission, my rarely-bothered friend had to go back to the car to get a coat!)
But the most egregious problem, for at least the third show in a row, is the awful stage lighting. As I’ve said before, the dark lighting makes the audience tired, and it hurts our eyes. The previous play there was an old Agatha Christie mystery, so I can understand a bit why they thought constant darkness was appropriate, even though it was torturous to those of us who were trying to see the presentation. But this one takes place in 1988 New York City, so there’s no need for the stage to be so poorly-lit. In Lighting Design 101, colleges teach us that the most important thing in that field is to design lighting that makes it easy and comfortable for the audience. I guess that Derrick McDaniel, who did the lighting here, was absent that day. If this continues, I may have to start bringing a flashlight to future shows there!
Now back to the happier stuff. Crossing Delancey is a play from 1985, which then became a 1988 movie starring Amy Irving. It features a Jewish girl and her grandmother in New York City at that time, and even though I’m Jewish from Brooklyn, I had never seen either rendition before. I can’t speak for the film, but this play is entertaining. It’s about the grandma fixing-up her granddaughter with a nice Jewish man, through a matchmaker no less. I honestly can’t imagine anything like that happening there in the ’80s, outside of perhaps the Orthodox community, (which I believe is the only way young singles meet each other in that branch of Judaism.) So the premise of the play was a tad odd to me. (Then again, I’ve spent only three months in my life, since I was fifteen, without a boyfriend, so I never had a need for fix-ups, from anybody!)
(L-R) Ari Hagler, Sharron Shayne, and Holly Sidell. Photo by Alyssa K. Liu.
As you can see, I have a few tiny issues with the story; however they have nothing to do with this production—those are all on the original playwright.
But the performances are all first-rate, and it’s a sweet and humorous tale. The whole presentation is fun. I do have to admit that, though I enjoyed it, I didn’t laugh that much, (honestly, perhaps because I was freezing,) but the rest of the audience did. There was a packed house last Sunday, which I believe included a big Jewish group, which is a great idea for a fun activity to do with a bunch of your pals. But I promise you that any ethnicity will appreciate the humor and love story. It translates across religions. My far-from-Jewish friend loved it! And at intermission, I overheard a woman tell her friend, “I adore this show!”
I’ve heard that the movie isn’t that funny, but this version is mined for optimum laughs, which is a good thing. The grandmother is basically a caricature of a Jewish grandmother. I’ve never seen one like that in my life, but Sharron Shayne’s portrayal is amusing, and the audience I saw the show with loved her. Also spot-on is Amy Tolsky as the matchmaker. She’s uber-believable as her hilarious character!
(L-R) Amy Tolsky, Ari Hagler, Sharron Shayne, (in the background,) and Holly Sidell. Photo by Alyssa K. Liu.
One of my favorite things about this production is that there’s real quality music in-between scenes. Several songs are by The Roches, including the old school tune, Come Softly to Me, which was originally done by The Fleetwoods in 1949!
There’s a lot of clever repartee in the Crossing Delancey script. In one scene, the girl is late to a date with the pickle man, (because she was on an earlier date with someone else,) and she asks the guy, “Don’t you want to know why I’m late?,” to which he replies, “Will it make me happy to know?” She answers, “No.” So he says, “Then why should I ask for unhappiness?” I love that. (But how is he Jewish—we all want reasons to complain!) (Wait a second—something similar once happened to me when I was teen! One of my suitors had stopped by my house when I wasn’t home, so I asked him later if it was for a good reason, and he answered no. So I told him that I didn’t want to hear it then. But it’s haunted me ever since, even though I already had a new boyfriend. What could he have possibly wanted?)
I must say that at first, the story didn’t ring true that she could suddenly be attracted to this guy, even after they kiss. But then I remembered the true tale of a friend of mine, not as far back in the day as this play, but definitely many years ago. She was dating a guy named Mike; he was attractive enough, but she was not attracted to him—he was just one of her several suitors. Then one day, she was in her car, talking to Mike through her open window, when he asked, “Are you ever going to kiss me?!” And then, before she could answer, he leaned down, grabbed her face, and threw the mac on her! Telling me about it, she said, “Kah, I almost had a heart attack!” I asked, “That bad?,” to which she answered, “No! Now I’m in love with him!!!” And they’re married now! So I guess a kiss can do that for some people.
Holly Sidell and Matt Landig. Photo by Alyssa K. Liu.
In case you’re not aware of this, Theatre 40 is the most affordable experience, especially for the quality they give you. The shows are always excellent, (well, once they get a good lighting designer, they will be again,) it’s sooo comfortable in there, it’s incredibly easy to get to, and all the parking is free! And right outside the underground entrance! And very cleverly, because the wannabe paramour in this show is a pickle man, they serve complimentary pickle slices at intermission! All those reasons, coupled with yet another good production, are why you need to see Crossing Delancey.
Crossing Delancey running through June 21, 2026
Theatre 40 241 S. Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills
310-364-0535 www.theatre40.org
