'Beau Jest' opens at Players Centre for Performing Arts

James Sherman’s “Beau Jest” runs June 15-25 at the Players Centre for Performing Arts. Sarah Goldman is the hero of our story — a young Chicago schoolteacher. To please her traditional Jewish parents, she’s kept her relationship with a WASP ad man a secret. She’s also invented an imaginary boyfriend — the man of her mother’s dreams, a Jewish doctor. When her parents insist on meeting him, Sarah hires an actor to play the part. As you might expect, this harebrained scheme goes haywire, and comedy ensues. But, according to director Carole Kleinberg, it’s a comedy with heart.

What’s your directorial take on the play?

James Sherman’s gentle romantic comedy only works if it’s performed from a platform of truth. It’s not a door-slamming farce or far-fetched slapstick. “Beau Jest” is a gentle riff on what happens when an adult child tries too hard to please her parents and substitutes their hopes, needs and desires for hers. 

Having grown up in a traditional Jewish family and being a Jewish mother myself, I’ve experienced this situation from both sides. Yes, Sarah’s parents dream of a nice Jewish boy for their daughter; but ultimately what they want is to maintain a loving relationship with their child, and they want her to be happy. 

In many ways, the members of this 20th-century Jewish family are direct descendants of Tevye’s family in “Fiddler on the Roof.” Things change! Neighborhoods change; technology changes; people change. Sometimes we have to stop fighting and just accept reality. As Sarah’s brother Joel says, “Get over it!”

How would you describe the play’s tone?

It’s a gentle romantic comedy with delightfully familiar characters who get tangled up in a highly unfamiliar situation. Because the humorous plot revolves around love, truth and change, we know Sarah will live happily ever after. At least we hope so.

What attracted you to this play?

Many years ago, I directed the sequel, “Jest a Second.” I thought it would be fun to go back to the beginning of the story. As a Chicago native and lifelong theater person, I also had the opportunity to meet the playwright. 

James Sherman is a nice guy — very warm and open; his charm added to the appeal of revisiting Sarah and her family. The play’s setting also attracted me; I once lived in the neighborhood where “Beau Jest” takes place. Sarah’s father even talks about opening a business on Armitage and Clybourne, which is just about a mile from where my father had his store.

What’s the secret behind Sherman’s sense of comedy?

When theatrical comedy works, we see our own lives mirrored in the flaws of the characters. We laugh at their foibles and breathe a sigh of relief when (as the Bard famously said) “all’s well that ends well.” 

James Sherman has a knack for putting relatable characters into flawlessly constructed comedic plots. Anyone who’s ever stifled their own desires to please a loved one can relate to Sarah’s dilemma. One by one, her surprising solutions to that dilemma only make things worse and the situation funnier. 

We laugh as Sarah struggles to extricate herself from an impossible predicament. (Think Lucille Ball in the vat of grapes.) We laugh even more at Sarah’s growing realization of the mess she’s put herself in. How’s she going to get out? How’s she going to clean this mess up? Because it’s a comedy, we know she’ll be all right in the end.

Aside from phonetics, do “Beau Jest” and “Beau Geste” have a connection? I’m assuming the French Foreign Legion isn’t involved …

If you think about it, the French Foreign Legion bravely went into battle against unbeatable odds. Anyone who’s tried to battle a Jewish mother (or any dedicated mother) knows that the odds are stacked against you. Sarah and the French Legionnaires really have a lot in common!