ALL IN ZI FAMILY

In Russian Transport, comedienne Janeane Garofalo expands her range by playing a wisecracking Russian-Jewish matriarch whose domineering attitude toward her daughter conceals a family secret.   The able cast is solidly directed by Scott Elliott in this slice-of-life coming-of-age story, but ultimately, by failing to convey the external pressures and dangers that fuel the drama, Russian Transport only partially delivers.

The main problem is that writer Erika Sheffer, who makes her Off-Broadway debut with this play, focuses the story within the family, and it devolves into a not very satisfying conflict between father and son, instead of grappling with the larger issues of how this family might contend with the troubles it faces   – both financially and with the criminal world. Yes, that’s a spoiler. Sheffer sets us up to expect an avenging mother who rescues her son from the claws of the Russian underworld in the form of her sexy younger brother, but instead, Garofalo’s character reveals herself to be something of a Ma Barker of Brighton Beach, albeit a passive one.

Not that I necessarily had problems with that. I found Sheffer’s portrait of a working-class immigrant family, stooping to illegal activities in an attempt to survive, both astute and authentic (nicely abetted by Derek McLane’s set of a cluttered Brooklyn home, complete with cheap overstuffed couch and black formica table, the kind that starts to bubble and peel after a while).   But the play basically leaves you hanging. Granted, it would take pretty ingenious writing to figure out a resolution for the son’s failure to complete the nefarious assignment that he is given by his uncle, but Sheffer doesn’t try, opting for the less consequential drama between parents and children (which does offer some sly enjoyable moments: as the family confronts the ethics of their criminal activities, they stop to order Chinese food).

Many audience members at the performance I attended were Russian, and I wondered how they felt about the scenes that were played entirely in that language; but to my ears, the likable cast (none of whom were Russian as far as I could surmise) manages to acquit itself nicely. I did wish there was a little more chemistry between Sarah Steele as the daughter Mira and Morgan Spector as her uncle Boris, but Steele does appealingly portray the self-conflicts of a teenage daughter in a traditional immigrant household, shut off from family meetings, her aspirations to travel to Florence and study art ignored or scoffed at, and grappling with a sexuality that is awakening at perhaps not the best time. She also subtly differentiates the three Russian girls she plays   – cool and coy as Sonya; nervously learning English cuss words as Vera; and distraught as Sveta.   Garofolo is all tough-talk and no-nonsense, with a wry sense of humor that makes us like her, even as she berates her daughter and coddles her son (played by Raviv Ullman), a nice boy who doesn’t fool anyone with his gangsta strut.   Likewise, for all its criminal activities and exotic Russian accent, Russian Transport is really just a nice family drama that could successfully play on television.   All is forgiven in the end. Everyone sticks together, the troubles of the outside world fading as they gather to eat Chinese. Ah if only real life were like that.

photos by Monique Carboni

Russian Transport
The Acorn on Theater Row
extended to March 24
for tickets, visit http://www.thenewgroup.org/