'Modern Orthodox' pioneers the sect comedy

NEW YORK, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- "Modern Orthodox," Daniel Goldfarb's modest new play with a high-powered cast, is doing what topical comedies are designed to do: holding up a mirror to our changing attitudes toward various key aspects of modern life, in this case religion.

An often hilarious show directed by Tony Award-winning director James Lapine at off-Broadway's Dodger Stages, "Modern Orthodox" is about Jews who are religious only on occasion, sometimes referred to as High Holiday Jews, placed in uncomfortably close contact with a practicing Orthodox Jew of objectionable readiness to offer unwanted advice.

The cast includes Molly Ringwald, Craig Bierko and Jason Biggs, a better lineup than most Broadway shows have to offer.

Ringwald, a former juvenile movie star, is blossoming into one of the theater's most versatile actresses, and Bierko, a film charmer who starred in the recent Broadway revival of "The Music Man," is proving once again that he is a delightfully resourceful leading man for the stage.

Biggs, star of the "American Pie" movie series, reinforces the impression he gave in the title role of the recent "The Graduate" revival on Broadway that he is capable of shining in just about any role he assumes. His characterization of Hershel, the sectarian pain-in-the-neck in "Modern Orthodox," is the most unforgettable comic performance of the season.

As the show opens, Hershel, a Brooklyn diamond dealer, meets Ben Jacobson (Bierko), a Manhattan financial consultant, for lunch in the hope of selling him an engagement ring. Jacobson is a little turned off by Hershel, who wears a yarmulke with a Yankees logo and quotes from scripture in Hebrew.

Hershel wants to know what sort of Jew Ben is, and Ben replies, "Reform ... Secular, really ... Whatever you'd call a High Holy Day Jew."

"A Gentile," is Hershel's quick reply.

Irritated but still anxious for a bargain deal, Ben demands that Hershel take off his yarmulke before they reach an agreement on a sale, which Hershel does reluctantly. That seems the end of he matter until the next day when Hershel turns up on the doorstep of the Upper West Side apartment Ben shares with his fiancée, a doctor named Hannah Ziggelstein (Ringwald), with a sorry, guilt-laden tale.

Hershel says that the offense to God of removing his yarmulke at Ben's insistence has caused the death of his promised bride in Belgium, and Ben must take him in and find him another new client as a way of atoning for his sin. Despite Hannah's objections, especially when she learns Hershel expects a kosher kitchen, Ben allows his unwanted guest to settle in with unforeseen results.

After a series of confrontations as a result of Ben and Hannah's liberal views and Hershel's hidebound orthodoxy, the young couple find themselves pondering their guest's unsophisticated views on the sanctity of love and marriage. Hannah is first to admit a realization of "how far I've grown away from what is meaningful -- no, magical -- in life."

Ben also begins to show a new respect for Old Testament religion and the magic that has been missing from his relationship with Hannah. He surprises himself by feeling something akin to affection for Hershel and responds by introducing him to an oddball Orthodox young woman named Rachel Feinberger (Jenn Harris) who is catnip to the love-starved Hershel. He almost immediately proposes to her.

It's a play with a happy ending for all involved, plenty of pungent and raunchy humor and an occasional tug at the audience's heartstrings. Harris, who has her own brand of comedic acting that makes her seem like Sarah Jessica Parker on acid, fills out the cast nicely, bringing her own strengths to a powerful acting ensemble.

Derek McLane's all-purpose set for this intermission-free production is flawless in giving the feel of contemporary New York with the help of David Lander's evocative lighting. Dona Granata's costumes are a witty comment on the urban wardrobe as it slips into dishabille, particularly the pairing of Hershel's ill-fitting business suit with high-top sneakers.

Playwright Goldfarb has written two other off-Broadway successes, "Sarah, Sarah" and "Adam Baum and the Jew Movie." He is currently developing two TV films, "Revenge: A Story of Hope" for HBO and another based on "Modern Orthodox."

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