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| Danny Maseng, Galia Yishay, Shlomo Nitzan, Danny Litani, Aviva Schwartz, Michael Noy. |
This was a show about the Hassidic sect of Judaism, which
dates from the 18th century. A hit in Tel Avivk, the show was
translated into English for its Broadway showing. Dan Almagor put it together
out of Hassidic songs and stories. Its form resembled a revue more than a
conventional musical. Each of the six talented performers—Galia Yshay, Danny
Litany, Danny Maseng, Shlomo Nitzan, Michael Noy, and AviVa Schwartz—sang and
played the guitar. They each wore jeans and sports shirts, making them look
like secular students or working folk, and anything but Hassidim, who wear
traditional garb. Mingled with the musical pieces were narrative sketches and
bits of pantomime, presented in a style resembling that of Paul Sills’s then-popular Story Theatre.
Songs included "Once There Was a Melody, "Isaac, the Baker, "Don't Suck the Bones," "Eat, Lord, and Enjoy," "The Ten Ruble Note," "Gedaliah, The Tar Maker," and many others.
Reviews ranged from friendly to skeptical. Martin Washburn
liked the “rousing and penetrating” songs, Clive Barnes was fond of the staging
and “touching” subject matter, and Richard Watts called it “a disarming little
entertainment.” Martin Gottfried, however, thought it was “generally dull.” “The
ecstatic piety, the aloof, self-righteous strength of the Hassidim has been
translated into a nightclub floorshow, and it loses a great deal in the
translation.”
