Goldstein

Theater review by Raven Snook 

You’ll ingest more schmaltz than at your bubbe’s seder table with Goldstein, a long-gestating musical drama chronicling the mishegas of three generations of a Jewish family. Scion Louis (Zal Owen) has written a Pulitzer Prize–winning (really?) tell-all memoir about his titular clan, but his aunt Sherri (Megan McGinnis) is plotzing: How could he make up such awful stories? What follows is an extended family flashback filled with secrets, lies and way too many ballads.

Why, oh why, isn’t this immigrant musical different from all other immigrant musicals? Based on a 20-year-old play by book writer Charlie Schulman, Goldstein has heartfelt intentions—and an ideal synagogue venue—but smacks of the generic, and most of its characters are tired Jewish stereotypes. Brad Rouse’s clunky direction, Michael Roberts’s somber songs and the production’s barely-there design do not exactly liven things up. Give thanks, then, for the committed and talented actors, including multiple Broadway vets, who put across the material as if it really were Pulitzer-worthy. Standouts are McGinnis, who’s quite moving as a brilliant woman denied opportunities because of her gender, and Amie Bermowitz, whose take on the overbearing Jewish matriarch manages to feel fresh. If only that could be said for the mothball-scented material. 

Actors Temple Theatre (Off Broadway). Music and lyrics by Michael Roberts. Book by Charlie Schulman. Directed by Brad Rouse. With ensemble cast. Running time: 1hr 30mins. No intermission.