By Shannon Milliman
God of Vengeance cuts to humanity’s core with passionate vehemence at Portland’s Blackfish Gallery, Readers Theatre Repertory in Oregon. Sholem Asch’s creation directed by Mary McDonald-Lewis brings to life a rich cultural and historical reveal into shtetl life in Eastern Europe in the 1900s. Asch’s play explores piercingly unanswerable and controversial questions with actors that elevate theatre to an otherworldly dimension. God of Vengeance transforms life as you previously knew it, forcing you to reckon with hypocrisy’s weight. It is impossible to experience this gut probing show passively. Your brain and your heart and your guts will be ripped out and realigned. It is up to you to sort it out and decide what direction you move next.
A full, rich, poignant, life-breathing script written by Sholem Asch at the old soul age of 21, over a hundred years later, spurs everything within me that is human. Believing I am alone in my complicated thoughts, the artful delivery of this play transfigured normal connection. The passion of the actors inspired me to connect spiritually with a stranger turned soul friend. I was possessed with a power outside myself and had to share what I felt and spoke to a man I did not know. I learned the man next to me was Leonard Magazine, a benevolent sponsor of this creative endeavor. Leonard is of Jewish descent (not practicing) and during our conversation he impressed upon me the reverence of knowing, swallowing, channeling historical knowledge lest we repeat the pain of the past.
This cast did in depth research and study and gave me a launch pad into making something potentially archaic as relevant and crucial as water. The Torah scroll reminded me of a holy river that trickled to my progenitors who cleared the sagebrush and homesteaded the farmlands of Idaho. I am Mormon and thus bring that lens to my experiences. What this cast and crew did for me was readily connect a Jewish family and community to my own heart and community. The undeniable strength of a story, of creators and of emotions, have the power to draw a constellation of stars that illuminate that we as humans are not so very different at all. Jewish people have suffered far longer and deeper than my young faith, but nevertheless, I cannot help but experience compassion for our parallels. An extermination order has been placed on us both. We have been run out of our schetls when all we yearned was to practice our beliefs in peace. We pay our offerings. We marry our children to our own kind and we are very good at keeping the dark things out of the light. As Reb Ali (Mark Pierce) exclaims, “Such things should be kept in the dark. They are not nice.” And after this play, I feel compassion for my neighbor’s walk of life. All my neighbors.
The passion of this play jars me to consider the repercussions of harsh inflexibility on those who do not live up to the standards of the group. A rising theme of atoning for one’s sins through their children cannot be ignored. Could it be that it is not the sin, crime or offense that is most horrific, but perhaps what deserves our judgement is the manner in which we react?
Yekel, the pimp and patriarch played by Doren Elias has thunder in his bones. Though tormented by demons of his own doing, his acting intensity could have quaked the earth and drawn the evil and swallowed it whole, as if he were, dare I blaspheme, God himself. Elias’s range of deep, resonant and shifting emotional capacity riveted me. My hands were sore from gripping the bottom of my seat unconsciously when he was on stage.
Sarah, played by Chrisse Roccaro casts a spell of wonderment as alluring as a siren calling. Roccaro leads with captivating sophistication. Sarah’s resourcefulness, ability to use her diverse array of talents made me think of what we do when we are in impossible situations. Sarah is not so different to Emma Smith, my religious hero, the latter day prophet, Joseph Smith’s wife. Emma was trespassed in dank and sordid situations her husband got her into. Tar and feathers, the potential of tolerating multiple sister wives and likewise in God of Vengeance, Sarah, desperately using creative tools to manage Yekel’s stark-raving episodes, lure her runaway daughter, even almost seducing the young Shloyme (Walter Petryk) to get what she needs to survive and offer the best she can for her beloved daughter.
Rikele performed by Voni Kengla, the daughter of Sarah and Yekel, sprinkles grace and earnest tenderness into her role. Forbidden, lesbian love befalls and redeems her simultaneously. Kengla’s acting juxtaposes maturity and naivete seamlessly. Prostitute Manke (Lydia Ellis-Curry), Rikele’s love interest, expresses blissful communion together.
Hindel (Sarah Fay Goldmen) and Shloyme (Walter Perry) have interplay that captivated and kept my interest piqued. Reb Ali (Mark Pierce) brings strength, charisma, and humor to a role that connected all players like a thread to God’s will. Pierce’s defyingly believable characterization of a devout, imperfect, well-intentioned religious leader is captivating. The poignancy of his line delivery cut to my core. His words made me breathe slower and deeper and ponder how I have room for improvement in the way I live my values. I am charged to sweep my secrets out of the dark corners and mend the damages I do.
Basha (Katherine Grant-Suttie) and Reizel (Alex Blesi) are much more complex than mere prostitutes. Their deliverance breathes dreams, visions, mindfulness of the moment and happiness, which felt so contrary to what might be expected of entrapped prostitutes. Oh, the indomitable soul’s ability to dance! After the show, I stepped into what before the play felt like dismal dread – rain- and after the play, it was still raining, but I looked up and felt the riveting drops and felt life just as they did. New, refreshed, prayerful.
Reb Aaron (Joseph Silver) brings a mature levity and whimsy to the role as he barters the highest price for his son, who was clearly quite a catch. He also plays the poor man along with Kathleen Worley as the poor woman. Worley’s facial expressions and articulate, physicality maximize her impact.
The crew and support that orchestrated God of Vengeance took a masterpiece up ten notches. Yiddish Music and Language Jack Falk and History and Culture Consultant Natan Meir and armed the actors with rich understanding and knowledge. Fight Choreographer Kristen Mun made every altercation seem real, raw, and live. Director and Producer McDonald-Lewis executed a vision and provided a spiritual experience with the support of a dynamic, talented cast and crew. Bob Martin provided sound, Mooch Martin managed lights and a homey and welcoming house. Their creativity and simplicity in the simple gallery gave all the focus on all the right entities. Stage Managers Wendy Wilcox and David Berkson provided seamless bliss for all the moving parts and people.
Themes galore in this rich story but I laughed and snickered with the repeated, “The important thing is we keep this quiet.” Pay a little and ask forgiveness and it all goes away.
God of Vengeance at Blackfish Gallery by Readers Theatre Repertory is a life-changing show with an intensity that lingers beyond the time in the theatre. Performances are limited and coveted and attendance is crucial for your salvation. Mature audiences only. And the important thing is—you don’t keep this show a secret.
Readers Theatre Repertory presents The God of Vengeance by Sholem Asch, The Shocking Play at the Heart of Indecent by Sholem Asch.
Blackfish Gallery, 420 NW 9th Ave, Portland Oregon 97209
January 10-11, 17-18, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $10
Contact: 977-266-2787, readerstheatrerep@gmail.com
Readers Theatre Repertory Facebook Page
God of Vengeance Facebook Event
Readers Theater Repertory Site
Blackfish Gallery Site
Photo Credit: Owen Carey
Model: Eleanor Cathleen O’Brien
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