A NICE JEWISH BOY—
OR IS HE?

Plenty of laughs and genuine feeling
power this crowd-pleasing production

Benjamin Cole, Katrina Michaels, Sam Ashdown

Sarah Goldman is a young Jewish Chicago teacher in the late 1900s. Her boyfriend is a lawyer named Chris Cringle and they are thinking about getting married. But there is a problem. Chris is not Jewish and Sarah’s parents are not aware of the fact. Trying to cover, Sarah invents a fictitious Jewish boyfriend she names Dr. David Steinberg.  Of course, the parents are eager to meet this David, making matters worse.

Benjamin Cole, Katrina Michaels

The frantic Sarah hires a struggling actor named Bob Schroeder to impersonate David in front of her parents. But when the actor arrives for his gig, Sarah finds out there was a hiring screwup and the actor isn’t Jewish. Fortunately for Sarah, Schroeder agrees to assume the Jewish ID and actually convinces the parents he is a Jewish doctor, to the parents’ relief. But it takes all manner of comedy shtick to pull the deception over the eyes of the parents. The laws of probability are consistently tested until the final act turns more serious, though not at the cost of the humor.

Sam Ashdown, Katrina Michaels

The play, with all the laughs notwithstanding, is about the relationship between parents and their offspring and how those relations can provide bumpy rides. Parents worry about the well-being of their children and children try to avoid disappointing their parents. Beau Jest is first and foremost a comedy but there is plenty of feeling to humanize all the confusions.

Katrina Michaels, Sam Ashdown, Josh Cahn

Playwright James Sherman really shows his writing chops after the intermission. Without sacrificing the light touch, especially the one-liners, Sherman unravels the complicated plot and comes up with the right ending to suit this comedy. Of course, he was working with a superb cast, headed by Katrina Michaels as Sarah and Sam Ashdown as Bob. They fit together flawlessly in a play, for all its merits, that could occasionally turn a bit silly in spots. They receive strong supporting support from Joel Polis and Jill Remez as the parents, Benjamin Cole as Chris Cringle, and Josh Cahn in the droll role of Sarah’s psychologist brother.

Joel Polis, Jill Remez

Director Omri Schein displays just the right touch to keep the show at the right comic and dramatic temperatures. Marty Burnett designed a single interior set that looks ready to be lived in as soon as the show closes. Matthew Novotny designed the lighting, Jennifer Brawn Gittings the costumes, Michel Wogulis the props, Evan Eason the sound, and Peter Herman the wigs and hair.

Beau Jest includes a few ethnic bits that may elude non-Jewish viewers, but the show certainly seemed to work for every patron in my packed theater. I don’t recall many audiences who seemed so anxious to stand up and cheer the performers the moment the play ended.

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photos by Aaron Rumley

Beau Jest
North Coast Repertory Theatre
987 Lomas Santa Fe Dr. in Solana Beach
Wed & Thurs at 7; Fri at 8; Sat at 2 & 7; Sun at 2
ends on May 24, 2026
for tickets ($53.50–$68.50), call 858.481.1055 or visit North Coast Rep

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