TERRIFIC TURTURRO, MARVELOUS MARVEL,
CUNNING KRAVITS AND RIOTOUS ROTH:
DON’T MISS SABBATH’S THEATER
The New Group‘s production of Sabbath’s Theater is a perfect adaptation of Philip Roth’s eponymous 1995 novel. This picaresque, transgressive tale of love and loss, life and death, takes place on Arnulfo Maldonado‘s black almost-bare stage with Jeff Croiter‘s very subtle lighting — a perfect frame that neither obstructs the power of Roth’s words nor the incredible talent of its actors.
Elizabeth Marvel and John Turturro
In this irreverent comedy full of emotions, John Turturro fearlessly embraces the role of Mickey Sabbath, a sex- and death-obsessed former finger puppeteer who turned to teaching because of arthritis. He is a 64-year-old bad-boy locked up in his narcissism, a provocateur with a perverse personality who is both self-destructive and extremely passionate. Turturro’s exceptional interpretation of the character is a cross between Lear’s despair and self pity and Harlequin’s mannerisms and lust for life. A phone-sex call with one of his students creates a scandal that gets him fired, one more failure that throws him into chaos and soul searching.
John Turturro and Elizabeth Marvel
We find him at the beginning of the play doing his favorite thing — having sex with insatiable Drenka (Elizabeth Marvel), his mistress and true love, the only woman who can satisfy his frantic pursuit of pleasure. She is a Croatian immigrant, the wife of an innkeeper, and she tells us that her sexual appetite was awakened by Sabbath during their 13-year relationship. She now entertains relationships with many other men, something that excites him, but she begs him to be monogamous because he is “the one” and she can’t bear thinking of him with other women.
Jason Kravits, Elizabeth Marvel and John Turturro
Jason Kravits and John Turturro
The men in Sabbath’s life are played by exquisitely versatile Jason Kravits. He is Matija, Drenka’s husband, a Croatian immigrant businessman; accomplished Norman, the only pseudo-friend Sabbath still has; a New York subway bum; and 100-year old Fish, a still lively distant relative who does not even remember him.
John Turturro
If you read the book, you know what happens (cancer, death, funeral, masturbation, golden showers, brotherly love, theft, Sabbath running around with pink underwear on his head, loss after loss, etc.) but I don’t want to spoil it for anybody else. All you need to know is that, a few minutes before the end, Sabbath is on the beach, alone and naked, wrapped in the American flag, ready to jump into the ocean. 100 minutes will feel like 30.
John Turturro
The adaptation, by Turturro and Ariel Levy, truly captures Roth’s spirit: “To everyone I have ever horrified,” Sabbath declares, “to the appalled who’d consider me a dangerous man, loathsome, degenerate and gross. Not at all! My failure is not having gone further!” So, if you are squeamish about sex in its various facets, if you are sensitive about death and suicide, or if you just don’t like Philip Roth, you may be bemused. But if you have no problems about these issues, don’t miss it, it’s an amazing play, and has been extended to December 17. Hopefully, they will bring it back in the near future.
photos by Monique Carboni
Sabbath’s Theater
The New Group with Karen Brooks Hopkins
Linney Courtyard Theatre
Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd St
ends on December 17, 2023
for tickets, visit The New Group