Yes, that title is a bit of a spoiler alert. In this sweet and gentle love story, the gift of a hat underscores a bit of banter between two characters and is also a subtle message to try embrace the unexpected. Watch for it…and revel in the characters’ vulnerability and anticipation. That’s the heart of this story.
Playwright Susan Sandler’s Crossing Delancey was dubbed the most quintessential Jewish rom-com when it debuted off Broadway in 1985. That title still holds up all these years later: it’s a sweet story now presented by Jewish Repertory Theatre to June 2.
This is pure intergenerational love. A well-intended Bubbie (Darleen Pickering Hummert) wants her very attentive grand-daughter Izzy (Arin Lee Dandes) to settle down with a nice Jewish man. Trouble is, Izzy is OK with her life in her apartment for one and her career as a bookseller. She’s even OK with her crush on Tyler the author who sometimes drops in her shop to check his stock. So when Bubbie conspires with Hannah (Tina Rausa) to broker a good match, Izzy isn’t onboard to meet Sam the pickle maker (Adam Yellen). But life, fate, and destiny have other plans…and that is where the fun begins.
As always, it’s an absolute delight to see Hummert tackle any role. She exudes the warmth, exuberance, and wisdom of Bubbie, with an ample dash of humor, too. Or as she said to Sam “I’m 120 pounds of pure gold.”
Dandes is charming as Izzy, loving to her Bubbie and a wee bit skeptical of the old-world process for matchmaking. RJ Voltz is perfectly pretentious as Tyler the uppity author, just as Yellen as pickle maker Sam is down-to-earth and genuinely nice. Rausa’s Hannah is more earnest than scheming and her scenes with Hummert are like watching your favorite aunties bicker and chatter. While the story is as predictable as the day is long, it’s such a joy to watch a cast that is purely enjoying their characters and their pursuit of happiness. Izzy’s independence. Bubbie’s sly guidance. Sam’s quiet self-assurance. This is fun theatre for sure.
Set designer David Dwyer uses the theatre’s open space well, creating Bubbie’s flat and Izzy’s tiny New York bookstore side by side. While there are plenty of set pieces around to suggest both home and store, director Steve Vaughan engages our theatre-in-our-minds in a few key places, like the opening scene where Izzy is lovingly plucking her Bubbie’s stray chin hairs with an imaginary tweezer. Dandes’ look of satisfaction when she accomplishes her task and Hummert’s wincing and yelping are charmingly authentic.
This was a joyful way to cap JRT’s 21st season. If there was one thing I missed from the 1998 screen version, it’s the outstanding soundtrack by The Roches. Find tickets and details at https://www.jccbuffalo.org/jewish-repertory-theatre/.