A JEW GROWS IN BROOKLYN- THE SHOW

This past motzei shabbat, we set off for the wilds of Manhattan and went to see A JEW GROWS IN BROOKLYN.This one man show, starring Jake Ehrenreich, is a most wonderful diversion. In short, we had a blast!

Jake stands on stage and often breaks the third wall and engages the audience in conversation. Not only that, but he encourages audience feed back! As a result, the audience is often “part” of the show.

The story is simple: Jake’s parents were Shoah survivors who came to America to build a family in Brooklyn. The tales he tells are the tales that we all know, tales of growing up Jewish and the shared values as well as the shared mishegas we all recognize.

The monologue alternates between the screamingly funny and the extremely poignant. There are moments of pure tears of sadness and moments of tears of intense laughter.

One segment of the show centers on the Catskills. Jake captures the atmosphere of the Mountains perfectly with a pitch perfect performance of the Borsht Belt singers, comedians and tummelers.

One of our group grew up in Morocco- the American (and New York) Jewish experience is totally foreign to her, yet she roared with laugheter at the recognition of certain Jewish stereotypes that cross all lines within our Jewish community.

Jake shared stories about his family and also about the hundreds of family members who perished in the Shoah. In that regard, we sat there and realized that no matter who you are, all Jews live with shared ghosts.

Together with Jake, we all celebrated the birth of his son- a great victory against those who would destroy all Jews, as well as a proof positive of the power of survival.

Jake Ehrenreich is amazingly talented. He plays the trumpet and the slide trombone. He sat on the drums for a set and, frankly, blew us all away with an amazing display of drumming ability. He sings well, too.

All in all, it was a very worthwhile evening. We sure are glad we went. Oh, and by the way, he is totally right about one thing he said: We do have the exact same bar mitzvah photo (as his) in our photo album, too!

The Arts theater, 450 West 37 Street.

A Kosher Nexus sure bet! Go see it!