'JERUSALEM' A PLACE FOR UNHOLY, QUIRKY HUMOR.Byline: - Evan Henerson THE LARGELY dysfunctional players of ``Jerusalem'' travel to the Holy Land in search of - what exactly? Meaning? Inspiration? A place to scatter ashes? Seth Greenland's play is similarly meandering, angling for poignancy and settling instead for the too easy laughs of the quirk-riddled Solomon and Daniels clans. Director James J. Mellon and his Open at the Top Productions have produced some noteworthy work at the new NoHo Arts Center. A bauble like ``Jerusalem'' makes you wish the company would aim higher. Shrink Will Solomon William (Will) James Solomon (born July 20 1978, in Hartford, Connecticut) is an American professional basketball player who plays for Fenerbahçe Ülkerspor in the Turkish Basketball League. Solomon was first noticed at East Hartford High School in East Hartford, Connecticut. (played by Paul Denniston) is a Jewish psychologist who kind of wants to believe more strongly than he does. He's married to a gentile, Meg (Andrea Lockhart), whose Protestant upbringing takes a distant back seat to her desire to get pregnant. After Will loses a patient who believed that Martha Stewart <noinclude></noinclude> Martha Stewart (born Martha Helen Kostyra on August 3, 1941) is an American business magnate, author, editor and homemaking advocate. She is also a former stockbroker and fashion model. is the messiah, he and Meg make their annual holiday pilgrimage to Wisconsin to visit Meg's devout sister Glory (Melanie Ewbank) and brother-in-law Bing (Michael Catlin). Someone dies, and then the family is off again - Will and Meg on their own; Glory, Bing and mom, Mary, uninvited un·in·vit·ed adj. Not welcome or wanted: uninvited guests. uninvited Adjective not having been asked: uninvited guests - to Jerusalem. Transformations and realizations ensue. Denniston isn't the easiest character to get behind. Suggesting a less charismatic Matthew Perry, Denniston starts out crazed, but locates a few honest moments as the play develops. Considerably more entertaining - if equally sketch-worthy - are the Danielses. Ewbank is cheerfully crass and a couple of decibels too loud as the dim-witted adj. 1. mentally retarded; relatively slow in mental function. Adj. 1. dim-witted - lacking mental capacity and subtlety simple-minded, simple older sister. And Catlin is bemusing as the henpecked hen·peck tr.v. hen·pecked, hen·peck·ing, hen·pecks Informal To dominate or harass (one's husband) with persistent nagging. husband who loves his missus mis·sus n. Variant of missis. missus or missis Noun 1. Brit, Austral & NZ informal but secretly dreams of killing her. The production, by the way, is double cast with a different set of actors performing on alternate weekends. For all its predictability, ``Jerusalem'' remains easily watchable watch·a·ble adj. 1. Capable of being watched; viewable: watchable wildlife. 2. Good enough to watch: "The fastest modem ... . Greenland will likely go on to write better plays, and Open at the Top will certainly produce more quality works. Until then, a light comedy for the holidays isn't exactly a lump of coal in the stocking. JERUSALEM - Two and one half stars Where: NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood When: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday; through Jan. 8. Tickets: $20 to $25. Call (818) 508-7101, Ext. 5. In a nutshell: A comedy from Seth Greenland that is neither holy nor unholy. |
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