“Cooking With Bubbie”

Recommended *** A funny thing happened on the way to a premiere opening at  The Skokie Theatre- “A Pandemic”! Yes, way back in March of 2020, just days before the opening, our world went on shutdown and all the theaters closed!

The cast and crew, after all this time, went back to the drawing boards and have opened the show following CDC guidelines and bringing back “live theater” to our area! Hurrah!

“Cooking With Bubbie_ ( Bubbie is a Jewish term for grandmother, and in most cases, she is the mother of the father) is a fictional TV show and we, the audience are the studio audience for this 80 minutes of entertainment. Written by Jay Kholos ( who also wrote the music), I thought this would be a one person show. Boy, was I wrong! This is a musical ( of sorts) with a cast that includes five other players. Bubbie is played alternately by Jan Slavin and Carla Gordon ( both well known Cabaret performers in the greater Chicago area). The stage manager, J.T. is played by Andrew Pond, who many have seen on different Chicago stages over the years. I think he has found a part that is perfect for him. In this production, in addition to being the stage manager, he plays many characters in the “jokes” that are brought to life. I think the one error in this show that stands out is having J.T. sing with the Bubbettes as he is the stage manager,

The Bubbettes are adorable. Three lovely ladies who sing and dance and take part in the jokes that are brought to life. Mary Margaret is superbly played by Jessica Surprenant ( her voice is amazing), Jeri Hart as Bobbie Jean is adorable and inn today’s performance Connor Crumley Norton took on the role of Sarah Ruth and was stunningly perfect. Pay close attention to this young talent- she has it all!

The last character is the piano player, Sidney Lipschlitz ( played by Wilson Hicken who is a better piano player than deliver of lines, but does a mean soft show in the later part of the show). This character is the nephew of the Bubbie. He plays during the half hour before the show begins to set the mood.

As for Bubbie, Carla Gordon is THE BUBBIE! FYI- Frank saw the show last night with Jan Slavin and we will add his review later. I remember my Bubbie with love and Carla rekindled many moments for me.

Directed by Wayne Mell, this is a solid production that uses today’s technology to its full advantage. The backdrop on the stage is a “green screen” and they use it well (Matthew R. Chase and Wane Mell) to create different backgrounds. Mariane Brown’s choreography is well suited to the talent and the small stage at the Skokie Theatre. Two giant screen TV’s are in the house. One on the side and the other on the stage- here we see the monitor as if we were in a studio, but in reality that is the only thing that reminds us that we are. We hear about the brisket that made her famous, yet we are never going to see more than a few minutes of cooking.

The play is in reality a revue with skits that bring many of the old Jewish jokes alive. An older crowd will truly enjoy and if you are Jewish, it will be even funnier. A highlight is one of the songs “Its In Our DNA” where they also show  videos of many of the Jewish comics that made comedy so special. Alan King, Groucho Marx, Jerry Stiller, Jerry Sienfeld and oh so many more! Great scene! Wonderful memories!

Is this a MUST SEE show? No! But if you are hungry for live theater and want to be entertained, this is a winner. The show will continue at The Skokie Theatre thru August 22nd with performances :

Thursdays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.

Fridays and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Tickets are  $45 ( $38 for students and seniors) and can be purchased at 847-677-7761 or online at www.skokietheatre.org

The theatre is located at 7924 Lincoln Avenue in Skokie with plenty of street parking in the area.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Cooking With Bubbie”