Review: 'Bad Jews’ — laughs, verbal venom tackle tough topics

“Bad Jews,” Arizona Onstage Productions’ latest offering, erupts with more verbal venom than “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.”

And that’s a lot.

But if you can hang in there, this 90-minute comedy also tackles important issues, such as what does it mean to be a good Jew (in this case, Daphna, a Vassar undergrad with Zionist tendencies) and a bad Jew (that would be Liam, Daphna’s cousin, who is steeped in the Japanese culture he is studying but is cavalier about his own); familial love and hate, death and life, envy and contentment.

It begins on the evening after the funeral of “Poppa,” grandfather to Daphna (she has chosen her Hebrew name over her given name, Diana) and Jonah, who are waiting for his brother, Liam, to arrive. They are all expected to camp together in this cramped studio apartment owned by Liam and Jonah’s parents.

Daphna is more than a bit bitter that Liam’s parents can afford the luxury of owning a second apartment in pricey Manhattan. She is also bitter that Liam didn’t make the funeral — he was skiing in Aspen and lost his phone over a cliff, so news of Poppy’s death got to him too late for the services. And she is bitter that Liam is such a bad Jew.

But most of all, she is bitter that there’s a possibility that Liam, the oldest grandson, might inherit their grandfather’s chai (the Hebrew symbol for “life”). The chai is packed with meaning: Poppy preserved the gold ornament when he was in imprisoned during the Holocaust by hiding it under his tongue. She figures she is the only good Jew in the family, so she should have it.

Liam shows up with his very WASP-ish girlfriend, blond-haired, blue-eyed Melody. Oh yeah, Daphna is bitter about that, too. It’s bad enough that Liam (his Hebrew name is Shlomo, she tells Melody with glee) has abandoned his faith and cultural heritage, but now he is ready to water it down even more by marrying a shiksa.

Liam and Daphna waste little time tearing into each other. They are both smart, have a good grasp of English, and know how to slash people to pieces with their razor-sharp tongues. Poor Jonah stands by helplessly; he has no interest in being pulled into the center of their withering arguments. Melody, too, tries to stay out of the way, though she is increasingly horrified at their poisonous exchanges.

There are plenty of laughs in this play, but underscoring them is a tension that comes with being in the presence of very angry people. And truth be told, Liam and Daphna’s self-centered and deeply unkind behavior gets, well, tiresome.

But this fast-paced production is given some breathing room. Director Kevin Johnson and playwright Joshua Harmon seemed to sense that the audience needs little breaks, and they are nicely woven in.

This has got to be an exhausting play to perform, but this cast never lets on or lets up. Shira Elena Maas‘ relentless Daphna was often funny, often infuriating, always entertaining. Jeremy Vega kept up with her and dished as well as he got in the role of Liam. Caught in the middle of this brutish behavior are Beth May as Melody and Luka Vonier as Jonah, both of whom contributed some fine moments. And a very funny one: Melody studied voice in college and when Daphna insists she sing a song, we discover why she never pursued a singing career. May’s rendition of “Summertime” was, well, painful. And hysterical.

The play ends on an ambivalent note —which seems fitting, given that’s the way many heated arguments end.

But it also leaves a few loose ends that are perplexing. Most notably, Melody shows her hand in a way that dismisses the passion Liam and Daphna feel about their grandfather’s chai and nobody seems to react.

On Saturday’s opening night, there was a glitch in the lighting that came at a very crucial moment in the play. That was unfortunate, as it robbed the audience of some of “Bad Jews” impact. We’ll have to assume that won’t happen again.

For all it’s viciousness, this play provides plenty of laughs, And plenty to think about, too.