Pass the whiskey! Pass the wine!
Give us bagels and seltzer.
It's a regular party!
Gilbert and Sullivan aficionados wouldn't exactly recognize the above lyric as the opening chorus of The Pirates Of Penzance, but in Al Grand's zesty and fun Yiddish translation, where young Frederick is a former Yeshiva student and the Major General is an Orthodox Jew who bakes fine honey cakes and is a friend of Benjamin Disraeli, it's all perfectly kosher.
A production of The National Yiddish Theatre now playing through April 1st at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan, Di Yam Gazlonim! carries on the tradition of shows seen on New York's Second Avenue during the Lower East Side's Yiddish Theatre heyday, where classics from Hamlet to Huckleberry Finn were all adapted with a Jewish sensibility.
With an ear toward staying faithful to Sullivan's music (I heard only two instances where there was a slight alteration to fit a word in.) and Gilbert's rhyming patterns, including double and triple rhymes, Grand's translation is loaded with the humor and wit that has made the original English version still a popular favorite. There are some edits that would disappoint a perfectionist – much of the recitative has been either omitted or changed to spoken dialogue, the Major General's song "Sighing Softly To The River" has been replaced with "When You're Lying Awake" from Iolanthe and included is the finale version of "I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major General" which was created for Wilfred Leach's New York Shakespeare Festival production – but the result is still absolutely delightful.
Director Allen Lewis Rickman has provided an English translation of Grand's words, which is projected above the stage along with a Russian translation. Those familiar with the operetta will surely get a charge out of the clever way Grand has adapted Gilbert's lyrics and situations. Instead of mixing up the words "pirate" and "pilot" as in the original, Grand has nursemaid Rivke (Ruth) accidentally bind young Fayvl (Frederick) to a band of pirates because with their swords in hand she thought they were kosher slaughterers at afternoon prayers. When the pirates leap upon Der Groyser General's daughters they sing what translates to, "What a chance to get married! / Quick, find a chuppah!" And when the Sergeant of Police explains his hesitancy to attack the Groyser Gazlen and his men, he pleads, "I'm no Maccabee."
Rickman has a small playing area in which to fit his cast of fifteen, so much of his staging is of the stand-and-sing variety but the cast is so buoyantly animated that it never seems static. The exuberant Dani Marcus packs a fierce soprano as Malke (Mabel), contrasting well with the boyishly heroic tenor of Jacob Feldman (Fayvl). The excellent showman Stephen Mo Hanan opens the evening with a very funny routine as W.S. Gilbert before returning as the rapid-patter-firing Groyser General. Steve Sterner is a noble mensch of a Groyser Gazlen and Genette Lane makes for a comically mothering Rivke. Rickman appears in Act II as Sergeant of Police, resembling Oliver Hardy in both build and empathy, wearing a pained expression like he just mixed meat with dairy. There are strong vocal performances and sharp hijinks from all featured players and ensemble members (I.W. Firestone, D. Zhonzinsky, Eyal Sherf, Stuart Marshall, Yanki Salant, Yelena Shmulenson-Rickman, Ashley Adler, Amanda J. Passanante, and Susanne Nancy Kobb), with music direction by Zalmen Mlotek who plays piano in a trio that also includes Stephen Borsuk (keyboard) and Margot Leverett (clarinet).
Vicki Davis' set is simple, but attractive, consisting mostly of flat pieces before a seaside backdrop. Gail Cooper-Hecht supplies nicely traditional costumes.
What's not to like?
Photos by Scott Wynn: Top: Stephen Mo Hanan and Dani Marcus
Bottom: Stephen Mo Hanan, Dani Marcus and Steve Sterner
