Courtesy Boulevard Theatre
The Boulevard Theatre lends warmth to a tiny East Side stage as it renders the Wisconsin premiere of Jason Odell Williams' Handle with Care. Zoe Schwartz is vibrantly endearing as Ayelot. She's a young Israeli woman who speaks little English. She is stranded in a small town in America awaiting news of the misplaced remains of her late grandmother. Hugh Blewett plays an awkward and ineffectual deliveryman named Terrence who is responsible for the loss of the body. Unable to console her, he calls on the aid of Josh, an old friend of his who is Jewish. Far from practicing any kind of religion, Josh is removed from his heritage and knows almost no Hebrew. Mitch Weindorf carries a harried charisma with him in the role of a man who seems to be avoiding more than he would probably admit to. Josh and Ayelot have both lost something. Together they both find something they weren’t expecting.
There are scenes between the chronically out-of-sync Terrance and Josh in the role of his reluctant hero. Those moments hold their own charm and add to the comedy. Christine Lathrop Horgen adds to the emotional glow of the drama in the flashback scenes between Ayelot and her late grandmother. The heart and soul of this story, however, rests in the beguilingly tenuous chemistry between the two leads. Schwartz radiates sympathetic frustration at her situation, passionately speaking emotional Hebrew as all around her try to understand. Weindorf and Schwartz construct a very believable kind of chemistry between Josh and Ayelot which makes for a very satisfying romance between two people who must communicate somewhere between the words they speak.
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Through Nov. 29 at Plymouth Church, 2717 E. Hampshire St.
For tickets, visit boulevardtheatre.com.
