10 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE February 2, 2001

eveningsout

A warm and witty story of bridging a cultural gap

by Anthony Glassman

The generation gap has always been there. In the Middle Ages, men would complain to their wives, "I don't understand that boy, always running off and jousting.” It's a not-so-simple fact of life.

It gets more complex, however, in the Jewish community. Our grandparents and, to some extent, our parents grew up speaking Yiddish, the mix of Hebrew, Russian and German that Jews have spoken for centuries. Our ancestors were from places with strange names, like Pinsk and Kishinev. Things were hard, so they made sure they gave their children an easier life. And their children gave the next generation an even easier life. Unless, of course, one of those children married a goy, or was a faygele. Okay, you're looking confused.

A goy is what a Jewish person calls a nonJewish person. It's not necessarily an insult; calling someone a goyishe kopf (non-Jewish head) is, but goy by itself is simply descriptive.

A faygele (FAY-gull-uh) is what the

grandparents called the interior decorator behind his back. Still, it wasn't necessarily an insult; it was just the word to describe a gay man.

In a roundabout sort of way, this has been an introduction to Visiting Mr. Green by Jeff Baron, being produced at the Halle Theatre at the Jewish Community Center of Cleveland.

The play centers around a third-g -generation American Jewish man, Ross Gardiner, who works for American Express. That doesn't actually have much to do with the narrative of the play, but let's give you all the information.

He had almost hit Mr. Green, an elderly Jewish man who used to own a dry cleaning shop. He didn't hit him, but Mr. Green fell down and hurt himself. A judge has ordered Ross to visit Mr. Green weekly and help him, shop for him, whatever needs to be . done.

There are two problems: Mr. Green is a complete curmudgeon, and Ross is gay.

This is where the generation gap comes into play. Belonging to the generation he is,

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Ross doesn't understand the views and experiences of Mr. Green and, belonging to his bygone generation, Mr. Green doesn't really understand the concept of "gay is good." To him, the purpose of children is to give you Jewish grandchildren, and anything that stands in the way of that is a bad thing.

The role of Mr. Green was originated by Eli Wallach, who must have been magnificent in the role. He's so cantankerous to begin with that it is hardly a stretch to imagine him playing the setin-his-ways Mr. Green.

Reuben Silver steps boldly into Wallach's shoes, deftly playing the subtly nuanced character.

Green could be a stereotype; he's old, he's Jewish, he grew up speaking Yiddish and keeping kosher and railing against the goyim who hated his people and didn't want them around.

Scott Plate and Reuben Silver

However, between Baron's writing and Silver's acting, he becomes something more: a terribly sad man who has lost his wife and turned his back on his daughter, the only two people in his solitary life. There are moments where the loss of Yetta, his wife, are as heartbreaking as if they occurred onstage, instead of months before the play started.

Filling the role of Ross, the young gay Jewish man who knows so little of his heritage and the generations that came before him, is the almost ubiquitous Scott Plate.

Plate most recently held the title role in Cleveland Public Theater's production of Gross Indecency: the Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. Plate, who seems to be one of the hardest-working men in the Cleveland theater community, is an excellent, skillful actor. When a talented actor is given a good script, magic happens.

This is magic, my friends.

It's funny, it's heartwarming, and it's never schmaltzy. It could easily devolve into cheap sentimentality, but it doesn't, which is a testament to both the writer and the actors.

But, you say, you want proof that it's funny. Okay, read on:

Mr. Green: Are you sure you're Jewish? Ross: Well, Mr. Green, I don't remember my bris [the ritual circumcision of male babies], but apparently I had one. My father's

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Mr. Green: So you are Jewish. Ross: Yes. It's New York. The chances of two people who bump into each other both being Jewish is pretty good.

It's a warm, witty play. The two men don't understand each other; heck, at the beginning, they don't even like each other. But time brings understanding, and understanding brings a friendship that bridges the chasm of years and culture between them. They don't miraculously accept everything about each other, but that isn't really necessary for friendship, is it?

In addition to the play, which is part of "Life's Greatest Lessons: a Symposium on Aging" presented by the JCC, the playwright will be present at 2 pm on February 18 to discuss his work and life in a discussion with Professor Jerrold Scott of Case Western Reserve University. ✓

Visiting Mr. Green will be playing from February 3 to 18 at the Halle Theatre, 3.505 Mayfield Rd, Cleveland Heights. Tickets are $14 to $18, and can be purchased through the box office, 216-382-4000.

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