Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography

Chava (Patti Gardner) and Sarah (Gemma Berg) enjoy an easy rapport in The Last Yiddish Speaker.” Looking on is Sarah’s father, Paul (Stephen Schnetzer). 

By AARON KRAUSE

Forget ghosts and goblins.

Deborah Zoe Laufer’s frightening and moving drama, The Last Yiddish Speaker, centers on a real horrific scenario. Specifically, the playwright imagines that the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol was successful. As a result, a white supremacist regime came into power. Under its rule, authorities enforce ethnic, ideological and religious conformity at gunpoint. So, if you are not white and Christian, you are in trouble with the law, and the consequences can be grave. In addition, if you try to hide someone who falls outside of these categories, there can be consequences.

The Last Yiddish Speaker is running at Theatre Lab, the professional resident company of Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, through Nov. 10 in a mostly impressive production. In addition to being the playwright, Laufer sensitively directs a talented cast for Theatre Lab’s mounting.

The roughly 95-minute production (no intermission) is part of the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere program (https://nnpn.org). Basically, that means the piece is undergoing three separate world premiere productions on three different theater companies’ stages. The first such production has finished at InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia. Now, FAU’s Theatre Lab is giving the piece its second world premiere production. This is happening at the same time that Oregon Contemporary Theatre in Eugene, Oregon is giving The Last Yiddish Speaker its final world premiere production through Nov. 10.

The play’s setting is May, 2029, “a few years after the Jan. 6 insurrection, if just a few things had shifted,” Laufer notes in her script.

The piece zooms in on the lives of Paul and his teenage daughter, Sarah (living as “Mary” in hiding). They are living in a fictional small rural town in upstate New York as Christian-passing folks. Several crucifixes adorn their walls, blending in with the rest of their home’s contents, but also standing out. However, in reality, Sarah and Paul are Jewish people who fled New York City following the insurrection. They appear to be living convincingly as Christians in their tiny hamlet, attending church regularly and getting along fine with the people living near them. But when an ancient Yiddish-speaking woman mysteriously arrives on their doorstep, the father and daughter must decide between fleeing once again, or staying and fighting for their true faith, heritage, and identity.

If you want to consider The Last Yiddish Speaker as a realistic play, then your ability to suspend your disbelief will face a huge test. Indeed, it’s implausible that someone would have chosen this town and this particular home to drop off this individual, who claims to be more than 1,000 years old (she says she was alive during the Crusades, from 1095-1291).

Who would have dropped this person, named Chava, off at Sarah and Paul’s house? Chances are, they would not have given their new address to many people. Still, soon after Sarah and Paul let Chava into their home, they notice a note attached to her coat. It reads, “This is your Great Aunt Chava.” But even if some unknown long-distance relative of Sarah and Paul drove the car that zoomed off immediately after dropping off Chava, it’s a stretch to believe that the driver would have known exactly where to take her.

Frankly, Aunt Chava seems like the Jewish equivalent of Aunt Ester from playwright August Wilson’s work. You may recall Aunt Ester as a character in Wilson’s American Century Cycle Plays, a series of 10 plays depicting the African American experience in the U.S. in each decade of the 20^th century (one play for each decade, set mostly in Pittsburgh’s Hill District).

As the “embodiment of African wisdom and tradition,” Aunt Ester supposedly arrived in America in 1619, carrying the history of Black people in America with her. With her powers of memory, she helps many people in Pittsburgh’s Hill District to find the tools they need to carry their cultural legacy forward and advises them spiritually. Her existence, like Chava’s, is more an example of magical realism than pure realism. The former depicts a realistic world with magical elements, often blurring the lines between the two.

Seen from this light, The Last Yiddish Speaker’s Aunt Chava is the embodiment of Jewish wisdom and tradition. In Laufer’s play, among other things, she helps Sarah connect with her heritage and tradition by speaking to her in Yiddish. Jews in central and eastern Europe spoke Yiddish before the Holocaust. It was originally a German dialect with words from Hebrew and several modern languages. Today, Yiddish is enjoying a revival; it’s not a dying language.

In The Last Yiddish Speaker, Sarah and Paul at first believe that Chava only speaks Yiddish. Therefore, Sarah installs an app on her phone that translates Yiddish to English. While Sarah welcomes Chava into her and her father’s home and is open to learning about her heritage and its history, Paul is concerned. Specifically, he fears that her presence will uncover his and his daughter’s true identity. Therefore, a mini conflict arises between father and daughter as to whether they should turn Chava in. However, wouldn’t that amount to an affront against Paul and Sarah’s faith?

“We have the power to do the right thing,” Sarah passionately tells her dad.

“What’s the right thing?” he counters. “For me, the right thing is to keep you alive.”

“Dad,” Sarah retorts. “Somebody sent her (Chava) to us. ‘It’s your turn.’ That’s what the note said. There has to be a reason. Who knows how many Jews are left in the country? What if it’s just us? The three of us? And you and I, we’re terrible Jews. What if she’s the last person who can read Hebrew? What if she’s the last Yiddish speaker? And you’re gonna turn her in?”

Paul, who doesn’t believe in God, has distanced himself from his Jewish faith. But later in the play, he turns back toward it, calling to mind how people sometimes embrace their faith only when they need it most.

Speaking of Judaism, you do not have to be Jewish to find meaning in this play. Its themes are universal enough to appeal to a variety of different people. With that said, though, it wouldn’t hurt for the production to include subtitles to Hebrew prayers and Yiddish words.

As she has done with some of her other plays, Laufer has packed quite a few themes into The Last Yiddish Speaker, making it a thought-provoking, layered, yet tight piece. This play’s themes include prejudice, provincialism, assimilation, education, family, heritage, history, religion, belief, tradition, politics, church vs. state, our common humanity, and what it means to be a Jew.

Laufer’s writing is lively and touching and her characters are generally real and relatable. For instance, Sarah is a high school senior who harbors strong convictions, and she has dreams, which include going to college and getting a good job. Unfortunately, that will not be possible because under the ruling U.S. regime in the play, women cannot attend college in America. But Sarah is determined to study at a college or university– even if she has to move to Canada.

Sarah’s father is also an identifiable character. After all, he has lost his wife, his former home in New York City, and his job there as a city planner. To make ends meet, Paul works at the local Walmart in his new hometown. In addition to his work, Paul devotes much of his time to keeping Sarah safe. While Paul has gone through a lot, he doesn’t pity himself – and, perhaps as a result, we don’t pity him either.

John, whose relations expect him to take over the family farm, is also a likable character. He’s affable, bright, and curious — even though he’s almost never stepped foot outside his hometown and speaks mainly to people who are like him. Ultimately, you sense that because he met someone like Sarah (Mary to him), John has become just a bit more worldly and open minded.

It’s hard to determine exactly what John’s duties are as an “inspector.” We know he has a key to Sarah and her father’s house, and he inspects the home, at times with his gun drawn. But beyond that, it’s unclear what an inspector is and what he/she does under this regime. We also don’t know how many inspectors exist. An extra scene devoted to exposition, a note in the program, or a preface on a projection screen could help fill in such holes.

As for Chava, it’s easy to admire her strong faith and sense of humor. In addition, she’s a survivor; you sense that she possesses a quiet, inner strength that has allowed her to survive so much Tsuris (the Yiddish word for trouble, distress, or aggravation). But again, it’s hard to categorize her as a realistic character. Rather, Chava seems more like a symbolic being or a fantasy character such as the angel in Tony Kushner’s epic play, Angels in America. How else could you explain Chava’s ability to make a Tallit (Jewish prayer shawl) and a pickle materialize out of seemingly nowhere?

While Chava may not be a real flesh and blood human being, Laufer has endowed her with human qualities. And, fortunately, Patti Gardner, who portrays Chava, and her fellow cast members imbue their characters with traits that make them seem real and relatable.

Even with grey hair poking out from beneath a black head scarf, Gardner’s Chava looks young for somebody supposedly ancient. Perhaps applying aging makeup to Gardner’s face would have done the trick. But Gardner, a veteran, award-winning South Florida performer, imbues her character with a quiet inner strength and a reverence that wins us over. In addition, Gardner makes Chava humorous without turning her into a caricature.

Stephen Schnetzer believably portrays Paul as someone who is concerned but is also trying to make life seem as normal as possible for him and his daughter. Clearly, his character is adamant about certain things, but you also sense his love for his daughter. Schnetzer, an experienced performer making his Theatre Lab debut, finds ways to convey his character’s weariness from all that has happened. For instance, he puts his hand on his head which suggests that he is overwhelmed.

As Sarah, Gemma Berg imbues the young woman with an obvious passion and desire to live a full, satisfying life. Berg’s Sarah is also sensitive, enthusiastic, and her performance includes a hint of an eye-rolling, sarcastic teenager.

Berg shares strong chemistry with Gage Callenius, who convincingly conveys a pleasant demeanor as Sarah’s boyfriend, John. As the two young actors portray their characters, they share a relationship that is sometimes tense and sometimes intimate. Their bond may remind you of the relationship between Rolf and Liesl in The Sound of Music. Speaking of The Sound of Music,” the tense end to Laufer’s play may also bring to mind that classic musical.

If there is a knock on the performances, Berg and Schnetzer need to react more strongly to Chava’s sudden appearance at their home. But otherwise, the cast delivers impress performances.

The actors perform on scenic designer Michael McClain’s impressively detailed and realistic set. It depicts a kind of rustic, comfortable-looking home, complete with a brown floor and similar colored walls. Details such as multiple crucifixes clearly suggest that a Christian family lives there.

Lighting designer Thomas Shorrock illuminates the set with mostly realistic lighting, but perhaps could have included some effects to suggest the magical realism in the piece.

Speaking of effects, suspenseful music helps to reinforce tension, while a haunting, “old world” Jewish sounding tune seems appropriate for Chava’s inclusion in the play.

Costume designer Dawn C. Shamburger clothes the actors in mostly realistic outfits. By contrast, Chava wears layers of clothing, perhaps suggesting that she has had many experiences during her long life.

Parts of The Last Yiddish Speaker are haunting and even terrifying, especially with all the hate and division apparent in society today. The possible re-election of Donald J. Trump also lends timeliness to this tale. But ultimately, the play, which will hopefully enjoy a long theatrical life, suggests that there is a way out of hostility, prejudice, division, and other ills.

“We’re all just people,” Paul says. “We have more in common than we have differences.”

Doesn’t that sound especially refreshing these days?

Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography

Chava (Patti Gardner) outfits a reluctant Paul (Stephen Schnetzer) with a tallit, a Jewish prayer shawl.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Theatre Lab’s world premiere production of “The Last Yiddish Speaker.”

WHEN: Through Nov. 10. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday. Additional 3 p.m. matinees are held on Saturdays during the second and third weeks of the run.

WHERE: The Heckscher Stage in Parliament Hall on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus. The address is 777 Glades Road.

TICEKTS: Prices range from $35 to $45. Go to www.fauevents.com or call (561) 297-6124.