Theatre Review: Crossing Delancey
I haven't blogged in a long time. But I am inspired to write about a refreshingly light and amusing romantic comedy with a New York Jewish theme I saw last night. Crossing Delancey by Susan Sandler was presented by Theatre Three in Port Jefferson.
This is a play about Isabelle, a young Jewish woman who works in an Upper East Side bookstore and who has a big crush on a writer named Tyler. Tyler often stops by the bookstore to check on how his books are selling. But the self-absorbed and egotistical Tyler hardly notices Isabelle and usually cannot even remember her name. Regardless Isabelle is enraptured with Tyler and keeps hoping they can begin a more personal relationship. Meanwhile Isabelle's Bubbie (Jewish grandmother), who lives in the Lower East Side, hires a local matchmaker to find a husband for Isabelle - against Isabelle's wishes. Hannah, the meddlesome matchmaker, selects Sam the local pickle seller as a match for the bookish Isabelle. Sam is smitten with Isabelle. He has noticed her in the neighborhood when she comes to visit her grandmother every Sunday. But Sam is not at all what Isabelle has in mind for husband material.
Of course this a light comedy and there are no big surprises. In the end Isabelle's eyes are opened to see the shallowness of Tyler, and Sam turns out to be a Prince Charming who wins Isabelle's heart.
Sue Anne Dennehy, who had played the stern grandmother in Theatre Three's production of 'Lost in Yonkers' in the past, here plays Bubbie winningly. She gets the funniest lines in the play. Elizabeth Ann Castrogiovanni was a lovely Isabelle - especially in the First Act when she had soliloquies spoken directly to the audience. But James Schultz - a young actor who has appeared in several Theatre Three productions - stole the 2nd Act as Sam. Usually an older (closer to middle aged) actor is cast as Sam. Schultz is young, tall and good-looking. But he delivers his lines with heart, as if they were coming from his own head and not the playwright's pen, and he was convincing as the play's romantic hero. There was no question but that the audience was rooting for him.
This is a play about Isabelle, a young Jewish woman who works in an Upper East Side bookstore and who has a big crush on a writer named Tyler. Tyler often stops by the bookstore to check on how his books are selling. But the self-absorbed and egotistical Tyler hardly notices Isabelle and usually cannot even remember her name. Regardless Isabelle is enraptured with Tyler and keeps hoping they can begin a more personal relationship. Meanwhile Isabelle's Bubbie (Jewish grandmother), who lives in the Lower East Side, hires a local matchmaker to find a husband for Isabelle - against Isabelle's wishes. Hannah, the meddlesome matchmaker, selects Sam the local pickle seller as a match for the bookish Isabelle. Sam is smitten with Isabelle. He has noticed her in the neighborhood when she comes to visit her grandmother every Sunday. But Sam is not at all what Isabelle has in mind for husband material.
Sue Anne Dennehy, who had played the stern grandmother in Theatre Three's production of 'Lost in Yonkers' in the past, here plays Bubbie winningly. She gets the funniest lines in the play. Elizabeth Ann Castrogiovanni was a lovely Isabelle - especially in the First Act when she had soliloquies spoken directly to the audience. But James Schultz - a young actor who has appeared in several Theatre Three productions - stole the 2nd Act as Sam. Usually an older (closer to middle aged) actor is cast as Sam. Schultz is young, tall and good-looking. But he delivers his lines with heart, as if they were coming from his own head and not the playwright's pen, and he was convincing as the play's romantic hero. There was no question but that the audience was rooting for him.
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