"The Chosen," and We Don't Mean The Yankees

(Follow-up to yesterday. Small is small, big is big. Whether or not the lumbering Great Plotnik continues to run up and down a basketball court while failing to impress Latino street kids, is small. Thanks very much to Cousin EG for such an incisive comment.)

Meanwhile, Saturday night Plot and Duck drove down to Mountain View to catch the Opening of the beautiful Chaim Potok story "The Chosen." It would be easy to say that the story of two Orthodox Jewish boys, one Hasidic, or ultra-religious, and one secular, in Brooklyn in the 1940s, would have trouble resonating with a non-religious American audience. But the relationship between the two boys and their fathers is so touching that Plot and Duck were spellbound by the production. Those of you who have seen shows at The Traveling Jewish Theater will recognize Corey Fischer as the old rabbi. He is so good your stomach starts feeling like his stomach does.

Theaterworks has hit it out of the park this time. You can read the San Francisco Theater Blog Review of "The Chosen" here, and if you're a sucker for father-son stories, as Plotnik is, you'd better not forget the hanky.

Plot was sitting right in back of The Witt, theater reviewer for the Morning Fish Wrap. Plot kept looking over The Witt's shoulder to see how much he was writing -- a lot! The man had little notes all over his program. At least Theatreworks is still handing out Press Packs -- most other theaters have gone to On-Line-Only press information, which means reviewers have nothing to write on except their palms and wrists.

Openings are always fun because the production companies give away as many free tickets as they can, to make sure the house is full when the reviewers are there. So Plot and Duck always see actors and directors from every company in town, whoever is not working that night, in the audience and at intermission. There is a theater community in every theater town, and nothing brings them together like free tickets. Right, JJ-aka-PP?