Theatre Review

Old Jews tell old jokes

Don Fowler
Posted 4/24/15

I’m not sure if you call “Old Jews Telling Jokes” theatre. It is more like an old vaudeville routine, done with a series of skits, standup and songs.

The 90-minute show takes place in rental …

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Theatre Review

Old Jews tell old jokes

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I’m not sure if you call “Old Jews Telling Jokes” theatre. It is more like an old vaudeville routine, done with a series of skits, standup and songs.

The 90-minute show takes place in rental space at Trinity Rep’s Chace Theatre.

The five entertainers do their jobs well, with a steady flow of humor, much of it on the risqué side, so leave the kids at home.

Using a bare stage with moveable chairs and a screen overhead showing the subject matter, the two women and three men run through a series of jokes, stories and skits beginning with birth and childhood and ending with old age and retirement.

There are the groaners, the quick punch lines, the predictable, the really old jokes, and a few that are very R rated. I was surprised that much of the R rated humor resorted to the use of the F bomb and bathroom humor, remembering the old Jewish comedians as being subtler in their choice of words and gestures.

Relying heavily on the Borscht Belt acts and some of the great old Jewish comedians, “Old Jews…” has enough universal appeal to reach beyond one ethnic group. (One of the funniest jokes is about the Pope.)

The funniest bit is an old black and white video of Alan King doing a hysterical bit.

All five performers were given a chance to tell “their stories” alone on stage, mixing a bit of poignancy with humor.

If you saw “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m In Therapy,” that is the type of humor you can expect Like a Chekhov play, it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea – or borscht.

“Old Jews Telling Jokes” plays at Trinity’s Chace Theatre through May 10. Call 351-4242 for tickets, which are priced at $44-$64.

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