The Sisters Rosensweig

The Old Globe Theatre’s revival of Wendy Wasserstein’s 1993 Broadway hit The Sisters Rosensweig, which has arrived in San Diego a mere six months after her death from cancer at age 55, brings with it an air of both melancholy and celebration. Wasserstein’s quasi-Chekovian tale of three Jewish sisters finally coming to terms with who they really are is one of the late playwright’s most personal and deeply felt tales, if not necessarily her most accomplished. It’s a bit sitcom-like in tone, a tad too rambling in the first act, and ends just a tiny bit too neatly. However, David Warren’s astute and beautifully detailed production, featuring an array of first-rate New York actors, is both a fitting memorial to Wasserstein and a satisfying evening in the theater.

The sisters in question are Sara Goode (Janet Zarish), a brilliant and successful investment banker who has moved to England in large part to try to eradicate her Brooklyn roots; Gorgeous Teitelbaum (Jackie Hoffman), a Massachusetts housewife turned radio show host, and Pfeni Rosensweig, (Deirdre Lovejoy), a travel writer who’s considering settling down with her longtime boyfriend Geoffrey (Tom Nelis), a bisexual theater director. The three siblings have reunited in London for Sara’s 54th birthday party, an event whose participants come to include Sara’s smug adolescent daughter Tess (Stefanie Nava), her boyfriend, Tom (Mark Sullivan), a wannabe Lithuanian freedom fighter, and Nicholas Pym (Marty Lodge), a smug British politician whom Sara has set her sights on. The unexpected guest is Mervyn Kant (Mark Blum), an American furrier who surprisingly connects with Sara — on both the physical and intellectual level — and who causes her to rethink her commitment to the single life and her carefully constructed British existence.

Wasserstein has done a crackerjack job at capturing those prickly and familiar family dynamics of siblings still competing for the approval of their long-dead parents and feeling as if they’re constantly failing. Gorgeous holds herself out as the one who most lives up to her mother’s ideal of the perfect life, until she finally breaks down and reveals her own unhappy secret. Meanwhile, Sara, for whom exterior appearance is everything — down to her perfectly appointed house (gorgeously rendered by Alexander Dodge) and cultured faux British accent — finally discovers that eliminating herself from the competition is fruitless since she’s still Sara Rosensweig deep inside.

In the show’s original Broadway production, Madeline Kahn’s zany performance as Gorgeous firmly dominated the proceedings — so much so that she won the Tony Award as Best Actress despite a paucity of stage time. Hoffman, one of New York’s comedic treasures, isn’t quite as overwhelming, which turns out to properly balance the play. Nevertheless, her timing and facial expressions are as flawless as ever, and she brings a remarkable pathos to her character. When Gorgeous’ carefully constructed façade finally cracks, the effect is truly moving.

However, the evening’s star turn rightly belongs to Zarish, who is quite extraordinary as Sara. True, with her blonde hair and patrician features, she doesn’t look remotely Jewish. However, Zarish expertly captures every facet of Sara’s conflicted and not always likeable personality, while never asking for the audience’s sympathy. She’s superbly matched by Blum (her real-life husband and frequent onstage partner), who brings the right amount of charm and obnoxiousness to Mervyn. His unlikely pairing with Sara becomes utterly believable thanks to the pair’s natural chemistry.

Elsewhere on the supporting end, Nelis is hilarious and touching as the highly flamboyant Geoffrey; his moment dancing around Sara’s genteel living room in his boxers is priceless. Sullivan registers strongly as Tom, despite having only a few lines, and Lodge does what he can with Nicholas. On the distaff side, Lovejoy is an acceptable Pfeni, though she lacks a bit of the character’s eccentricity. Only Nava truly disappoints, though I’ve always found Tess to be one of Wasserstein’s most poorly written characters.

Like much of Wasserstein’s work, The Sisters Rosensweig probably resonates more with women or Jews than other audience members. But her theme of finding self-fulfillment should speak to just about anyone. We can only hope Wasserstein herself felt fulfilled when she was taken away from us much too soon.