Last year, JW3, London’s Jewish Community Centre, put on its first-ever pantomime Red Riding Hood And The Big Bad Pig claiming it was the country’s only Jewish panto. It was an enormous success and this year they’ve followed it up with Goldie Frocks And The Bear Mitzvah which after seeing it last night, threatens to be an even bigger success.
Goldie Frocks And The Bear Mitzvah tells the story of how Goldie Frocks outwits the dastardly Calvin Brine in his attempt to capture and skin Baby Behr before his bear (bar) mitzvah (at thirteen when he becomes an adult) and attain the secret of eternal youth (it’s a coat made out of the bear’s skin). There’s also a subplot (or is it the plot – this is panto after all) about Goldie’s inheritance of Brine’s clothing factory which is rightfully hers. As this is a panto (spoiler alert), Goldie wins the day and the bear is saved from ending up as a fur coat and Goldie wins back her inheritance.
On a fairly basic set, the cast of seven bring great energy and fun to the stage. Debbie Chazen plays Mama Behr, the “dame” (every panto has to have a dame) who’s the owner of Cirque de O’Vey and in a number of more and more outrageous costumes, runs the show. Baby Behr is played with a wonderful knowingness by Frankie Thompson who’s best known for her work on the comedy fringe. Heloise Lowenthal brings great gusto and lung-bursting brio to the part of Goldie. Simon Yadoo fresh from his very different role as a Hasidic Jew in the much-acclaimed What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank takes the boos of the audience with a wicked wink and a sly smile. Ian Saville is Morris Bloom – The Spirit Of The East End – and does some superb magic tricks bumbling along and forgetting his lines – he’s either a comic virtuoso if he means it or very endearing if he doesn’t! They’re ably backed up by David Ellis as Maxi Dress and Rabbi Drake who for some reason is a puppet duck and Yael Elisheva as Mini Skirt and a Judaicamonger. They’re all superbly directed by Abigail Anderson who pulls all the various threads (get it?) together superbly.
They’re all superlatively backed up by a trio of Klezmer musicians, Josh Middleton on accordion and trumpet. Christina Borgenstierna, percussion and David Gouly, clarinet. They’re on stage throughout and add various shout-outs and comments throughout the show.
Like last year, the script is written by Nick Cassenbaum and is full of puns and jokes that come along every few seconds, very rarely giving the cast time to take a breath as the show moves along at a hundred miles an hour with the on-stage energy never flagging. He’s also written some very witty lyrics to the fifteen or so songs such as “YMCA”, Fairytale Of New York” and “Whistle A Happy Tune” What’s an interesting twist is that all the songs are written by writers of Jewish descent or come from Jewish folk music. With all the bear puns running through the show, I was expecting “Bear Necessities” at any moment but it never came (copyright issues?).
As well as all of the music, jokes, magic tricks and puppets, there are of course the set-pieces such as the slapstick cake making, the it’s behind you scene, audience participation and of course a sing-a-long – a panto wouldn’t be a panto without them. In addition, there’s also a very funny riff on the Two Ronnies “Four Candles” sketch but with a very amusing Jewish twist.
Back in the sixties, there was a comedy album called “You Don’t Have To Be Jewish”. In the case of Goldie Frocks And The Bear Mitzvah you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy the show but as Nick Cassenbaum says in his programme notes “This year it’s even more Jewish” so if you are Jewish you’ll get some of the more subtle and esoteric jokes and if you’re not you probably won’t but you’ll enjoy the sheer energy everyone brings to the stage – bear with me on this – it’s a cut above the rest!
Review by Alan Fitter
Join Goldie, the best dressmaker in all of the East End, as she zips her way through London on a quest for some furry fabrics.
Along the way she meets Mama Behr and Baby Behr as they prepare for the best bear mitzvah that Cirque Du Oy Vey has ever seen!
You’ll be in stitches laughing at all of the unbearable jokes, you’ll be singing along with the pawsome on-stage band, and we might even have a magic trick or two up our sleeves.
CAST
David Ellis – Maxie Dress/Rabbi Drake
Debbie Chazen – Mama Behr
Frankie Thompson – Baby Behr
Heloise Lowenthal – Goldie Frocks
Ian Saville – Morris Bloom
Simon Yadoo – Calvin Brine
Yael Elisheva – Minnie Skirt/Judaicamonger
CREATIVE
Abigail Anderson – Director
Amy Daniels – Lighting Designer
Becky Plotnek – Producer
Becky-Dee Trevenen – Designer
Johnny Edwards – Sound Designer
Nick Cassenbaum – Writer
Yael Loewenstein – Choreographer
GOLDIE FROCKS AND THE BEAR MITZVAH
JW3, 341-345 Finchley Road, London NW3 6ET
10 December 2024 to 5 January 2025
