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Arizona Jewish Theatre Company's mission statement is to present plays that inform Gentiles about the Jewish religion and the Jewish way of life. As a result, this mission often leads to the production of obscure or difficult-to-stage plays. The playwright, Paddy Chayefsky, is definitely not obscure, famed for his Academy Award-winning scripts of "Network," "Marty" and "The Hospital," as well as his stage plays, of which "The Tenth Man" and "Gideon" are his two most recognizable. The problem this show runs into is it's difficulty to stage.
The cast of thirteen, twelve men and one woman, includes at least eight roles for men who can realistically play over sixty years old. To cast a show like this in Phoenix is difficult, to say the least. While the valley of the sun does have an impressive list of actors that call it home, eight solid actors over sixty would be difficult to find pretty much anywhere. Producer Janet Arnold and director Mark DeMichele decided to take the challenge, though, and the result is an amateurish but pleasant evening.
Set on Long Island, New York in the late 1950's, the show centers on the constant search for a tenth man to make a minion at a synogogue for Hasidic prayer services. While this search progresses, one of the regulars at the service smuggles his "slightly psychotic" granddaughter into the synogogue to save her from a return trip to a mental institution. He seems to believe, as the audience eventually does, that the eighteen year old woman has been possessed by a "dybbuk," (a restless spirit) the soul of a 'woman of ill-repute' from her grandfather's past who has been denied entrance to heaven. The result is an exorcism performed by the prayer group to send the dybbuk on her way and bring the poor woman back to her senses.
Despite how heavy this basic plot sounds (not unusual for Chayefsky, whose dark visions haunt all of his scripts), this play is actually a cute comedy and love story. One of the two who becomes the "tenth man," also becomes the love interest for the troubled woman.
Mark DeMichele's direction starts the show very slowly, and builds it to the exciting exorcism at the conclusion. The problem is, the show has to start v-e-r-y slowly to make the drama of the exorcism work. As a result, the play plods along until forty minutes after the curtain, when the pace finally picks up and the occasional jokes and plotting become more consistent.
As for the cast, the two young people, played by Scott Hopkins and Emera Krauss, are wonderful. Ms. Krauss' psychotic ramblings and pronouncements are at once disturbing and comic, and is easily the best part of this production. Mr. Hopkins, who plays the disenchanted suicidal dragged off the street to the synagogue to be the tenth man, is a solid actor and plays his cynicism with an even edge. Also good is Nicolas Glaeser in his small but integral role of the young Rabbi. He has a very poignant monologue near the end of the first act that sets the tone for the rest of the piece.
From there, the acting is a mixed bag, with several credible performances and a few unimpressive ones. The older actors, lead by (real life Rabbi) Albert Plotkin, had a tendancy to slip in and out of accents and characters, though not in a terribly noticable way. While no one person gave a bad performance, none actually rose above the others to stand out in this group piece, either. Rabbi Plotkin, a neophyte in theatre who looked perfect for the role of the obsessed "caballist" (philosopher/holy man) seemed to have trouble with his many lines. His interpretation of his character helped quite a bit, though, making those hesitations work most of the time.
The set by Thom Gilseth and lighting by Paul Black and Shaun Sites were credible, but unremarkable. The former grocery-store- turned-synagogue was sufficiently grimy, though the sets were a tad simplistic. Todd Higgins' sound design only made itself known when Ms. Krauss spoke as the dybbuk, and then it worked (super)naturally.
The Tenth Man is the kind of show that rarely gets produced. It's an interesting bit of theatre, both educational and enjoyable. This production starts out slow and builds to a final impressive crescendo. It's one of those evening where the parts considered seperately shouldn't make the whole, but when blended together, defy expectation and make themselves better in the process.
Production Details:
"The Tenth Man" by Paddy Chayefsky
Arizona Jewish Theatre Company, 264-0402
Herberger Theatre, Phoenix
$18-$20
February 24th-March 10th, 1996
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