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Bronx Express

nytheatre.com review by Eric Beckson
August 15, 2005

Osip Dymov’s well-crafted Bronx Express was originally produced in 1919 and has now been translated from the Yiddish by Nahma Sandrow and transformed into a musical. The comic Faustian plot depicts a working class Jew, Khatski Hungerproud, who is tempted to leave his family and religion for money, fame, and women. As Hungerproud’s father repeatedly asks, “Is this good for the Jews?” The answer is emphatically no.Obviously, the playwright has something to say and feels strongly about it. I rejoiced in the clarity, despite the sugar-coated moralism. Dymov expresses many anti-capitalist sentiments in his high-end vaudeville, such as: the wealthy use advertising to sell junk to the poor.The story begins on the Bronx elevated train, where a Mephistophelean Jew named Yankl Flames stokes Hungerproud’s latent dissatisfaction as a button factory worker for the past 25 years. Flames portrays the lives of “the Americans” as brimming with glamour and prosperity. As they ride past billboards for products that have enriched entrepreneurs, Flames persuades Hungerproud that he must recreate himself (and pay Flames commissions on future income) in order to live the American dream.Punctuating the drama are live parodies of the billboard advertisements for Nestle’s Baby Formula, Smith Brothers Cough Drops, Murad Turkish Cigarettes, and Pluto Water (a popular laxative). Several vintage advertisements are vertically aligned on both ends of the stage, reminding us of the seductive artwork that preceded the use of color photography.After Hungerproud leaves his wife and two children, he makes his first million by selling a plan to put the Jews to work on Yom Kippur. He then marries the Murad Cigarette girl, adopts the Nestle baby, and joins a consortium of wealthy businessmen including the Smith Brothers and Pluto Water (donning devil’s horns).As a fan of Klezmer, I was hoping for more of an emotional range from Jonathan David’s compositions and Glen Berger’s lyrics, although I did enjoy their work. I especially liked the song “The Jews Stick Together” and wished it was longer. And who would not relish a lyric such as “You can only eat stewed prunes with a clean spirit / a taste for the pure of soul”?Jeffrey Schecter, who reminds me of the young Richard Dreyfuss, captures the humble side of Hungerproud, but his greed is never believable. Jase Draper, as Flames, portrays a sleazy hustler who grows on you like the pathological liar Jon Lovitz portrayed on SNL. Yelena Shmulenson must have been transported through a time machine from the Jewish Riviera, she looks and speaks the part of Mrs. Hungerproud so well. Stephanie Johnstone doubles with versatility and charm as Hungerproud’s daughter and the Murad Cigarette girl, although she has yet to lose the self-consciousness of a young actor.Period costumes by Melissa Levin are simple and unobtrusive (even Brandon Sturiale, the talented pianist/musical director, wears one). But the Murad cigarette girl costume exposes a lot more than the original advertisement (inspired by our desensitized age?).Director Miriam Weiner paces a very swift three acts with no need for an intermission. The overall result is worth seeing. Although assimilation may not be the subject of discussion it once was, the Faustian premise endures. And there are many amusing lines, such as Mrs. Hungerproud’s: “My cooking is so good, even the fish enjoy it.” Who knew a Bolshevik could be so funny?