In the first act of Wendy Wasserstein’s “The Sisters Rosensweig,” Pfeni (Lisa Hodsoll), a noted travel writer, presents her niece, Tess (Jessica Behar), with a statue of the Hindu god Shiva the Destroyer, with the wish that it will bring her “hope and rebirth.”
It’s a theme that carries the play, as peripatetic Pfeni and her larger-than-life sister “Dr. Gorgeous” (Amy Jo Shapiro), a radio personality, converge on the London home of their eldest sibling, Sara (Lynda McClary), a successful international banker, for her birthday in 1991.
Shiva makes the rounds, as Tess presents the statue to her mother, Sara, who in turn offers it to Mervyn “Murf the Surf” Kant (Tony Colavito), a furrier, in town to visit theater director Geoffrey (Michael Styer), who may be a little too stereotypically theatrical for his (and fiancee Pfeni’s) own good.
Sara is bit too “big and mean and scary” for her own good, as her willful independence and pain over two divorces and a hysterectomy might ruin a wonderful opportunity with Mervyn, a widower with pain of his own. Can this potential new couple heal each other’s wounds?
Meanwhile, Geoffrey struggles with his bisexuality, Pfeni keeps traveling to cities no one can pronounce, Tess plans to fly off with boyfriend Tom (Cole Matson) to take part in the Lithuanian revolution against Communist oppression, while Gorgeous provides comic relief.
Geoffrey quips that Pfeni “probably thought Uncle Vanya was a Neil Simon play about his family in the Bronx,” and it’s appropriate, as Wasserstein’s work is Neil Simonesque. There’s much witty back-and-forth banter as characters of all shapes, styles and sizes come and go in a Queen Anne’s Gate sitting room, the sole setting of the play.
Will Pfeni stop playing the “wandering Jew” and settle down with Geoffrey or will Geoffrey embrace his inner “La Cage Aux Folles”? Will Mervyn graduate from “very nice man” to be something more in Sara’s heart? Is Nicholas Pym (Richard Dean Stover) really a Nazi? Will one-time choralist Sara sing again? And just who and what is Metternich and The Concert of Europe?
Though Sara and Mervyn’s story is the play’s center, the performance of Amy Jo Shapiro as Gorgeous Teitlebaum was the clear crowd-pleaser. Gorgeous, the middle sister, is the cream cheese that holds the bagel which is her family together. Still true to her East Coast “nice Jewish girl” heritage, she comes complete with “funsy” talk, moisturizers, a lawyer husband, a gaggle of “-vitzes” in tow and the innate ability to accessorize.
IF YOU GO:
» The Sisters Rosensweig
» Where: Fells Point Corner Theater
251 S. Ann St., Baltimore
» When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; through Dec. 7
Single 8 p.m. performance on Thursday, Dec. 4
» Tickets: $10 to $17.
» Info: 410-276-7837, fpct.org
