![\"Jeff](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_0829-e1780029852812.jpg\")
<\/a>Jeff G. Rack’s set. Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the one above.<\/p><\/div>\n
And then, on the negative<\/em> side, it was freezing in there the day we went. It used to always<\/em> be very cold in that theatre, (they<\/em> don\u2019t control the temperature\u2014they\u2019re 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\u2019s 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!)<\/p>\n But the most egregious problem, for at least the third show in a row, is the awful stage lighting. As I\u2019ve 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<\/em> one takes place in 1988 New York City, so there\u2019s 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!<\/p>\n Now back to the happier stuff. Crossing Delancey<\/em> 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\u2019m Jewish from Brooklyn, I had never seen either rendition before. I can\u2019t speak for the film<\/em>, but this play<\/em> is entertaining. It\u2019s about the grandma fixing-up her granddaughter with a nice Jewish man, through a matchmaker no less. I honestly can\u2019t imagine anything like that happening there in the \u201980s, outside of perhaps the Orthodox community, (which I believe is the only<\/em> 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\u2019ve 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<\/em>!)<\/p>\n (L-R) Ari Hagler, Sharron Shayne, and Holly Sidell. Photo by Alyssa K. Liu.<\/p><\/div>\n As you can see, I have a few tiny issues with the story<\/em>; however they have nothing to do with this<\/em> production\u2014those are all on the original playwright.<\/p>\n But the performances are all first-rate, and it\u2019s a sweet and humorous\u00a0tale. The whole presentation is fun. I do<\/em> have to admit that, though I enjoyed it, I didn\u2019t laugh<\/em> 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<\/em> 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, \u201cI adore<\/em> this show!\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ve heard that the movie<\/em> isn\u2019t that funny, but this<\/em> version is mined for optimum laughs, which is a good thing. The grandmother is basically a caricature of a Jewish grandmother. I\u2019ve never seen one like that in my life, but Sharron Shayne\u2019s portrayal is amusing, and the audience I saw the show with loved her. Also spot-on is Amy Tolsky as the matchmaker. She\u2019s uber-believable as her hilarious character!<\/p>\n (L-R) Amy Tolsky, Ari Hagler, Sharron Shayne, (in the background,) and Holly Sidell. Photo by Alyssa K. Liu.<\/p><\/div>\n One of my favorite things about this production is that there\u2019s real quality music in-between scenes. Several songs are by The Roches, including the old school tune, Come Softly to Me<\/em>, which was originally done by The Fleetwoods in 1949!<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot of clever repartee in the Crossing Delancey<\/em> 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, \u201cDon\u2019t you want to know why I\u2019m late?,\u201d to which he replies, \u201cWill it make me happy to know?\u201d She answers, \u201cNo.\u201d So he says, \u201cThen why should I ask for unhappiness?\u201d I love that. (But how is he Jewish<\/em>\u2014we all<\/em> want reasons to complain!) (Wait a second\u2014something similar once happened to me when I was teen! One of my suitors had stopped by my house when I wasn\u2019t home, so I asked him later if it was for a good reason, and he answered no. So I told him that I didn\u2019t want to hear it then. But it\u2019s haunted me ever since, even though I already had a new boyfriend. What could he have possibly wanted?)<\/p>\n I must say that at first, the story didn\u2019t 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\u2014he 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, \u201cAre you ever going to kiss me?!\u201d And then, before she could answer, he leaned down, grabbed her face, and threw the mac on her! Telling me about it, she said, \u201cKah, I almost had a heart attack!\u201d I asked, \u201cThat bad?,\u201d to which she answered, \u201cNo! Now I\u2019m in love with him!!!\u201d And they\u2019re married now! So I guess a kiss can do that for some people.<\/p>\n Holly Sidell and Matt Landig. Photo by Alyssa K. Liu.<\/p><\/div>\n In case you\u2019re 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\u2019s sooo comfortable in there, it\u2019s 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<\/em>.<\/p>\n Crossing Delancey<\/em>\u00a0running through June 21, 2026<\/strong> CROSSING DELANCEY I\u2019ll 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\u2019ve produced an excellent<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Theatre 40 \u00a0241 S. Moreno Drive, \u00a0Beverly Hills<\/strong>
\n 310-364-0535\u00a0www.theatre40.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"