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Review
25 Questions for a Jewish Mother
St. Luke's Theatre
February 1, 2007
Morgan Wycks
mwycks@nyconstage.org
25 Questions for a Jewish Mother performed by Judy Gold and co-written with Kate Moira Ryan sets out to resolve the issue of the stereotypical Jewish mother. The result proves that indeed the stereotype exists albeit with layers and layers of individuality negating the proof. Appearances, behaviors, attitudes and habits may seem the same but the path to them and the soul behind them are extraordinarily different. The structure of the piece seems rather loose but actually is quite rigorous, i.e. questions (Ms. Gold) answers (a series of Jewish mothers from around the country enacted by Ms. Gold) scattered among Ms. Gold's stand-up routines and her life story. Although there is a bit of free-form here and there when Ms. Gold interacts with the audience, the Q and A format actually informs the comic routines and the arc of Ms. Gold's life up to the present. It can get a little schlocky at times but Ms. Gold invests her characters with enough honesty beneath the clichés to still move you. And when Ms. Gold is funny she's hilarious. It's very neatly directed by Karen Kohlhaas on just the right set by Louisa Thompson.
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