The room is thick with steam (ok, it’s smoke machine smoke), an accordion and clarinet cycle through tunes that are joyfully melancholic, or perhaps melancholically joyful, in the way that only Klezmer music can be, Nick Cassenbaum wanders around in a bathrobe. From the moment I entered The Brick in Williamsburg Brooklyn, I knew I was in for a special night of theater. Bubble Schmeisis, Cassenbaum’s (mostly) one-man show about connecting to Judaism through going to the Canning Town schvitz with his grandfather, is tender, hilarious, and full of heart.
Cassenbaum is an exceptionally engaging storyteller. With a cheeky wit he leads us through London, shepherding us between the account of his journey to the schvitz, and instances of exploring his Jewish identity throughout his life. These stories include going to a Jewish summer camp, discovering a difference about his “schmeckle” as a child, and traveling to Israel. At first I was curious if the show would touch on the current genocide Israel is enacting on Palestine. Of course the actions of the Israeli government are separate from Judaism as a whole, but still I wondered what it meant to be exploring Jewish identity and pride given the current political moment.
What Cassenbaum offers is possibly even more powerful and necessary than on the nose critique– a celebration of Judaism that is culturally, and even familially, specific. This goes in direct opposition to the recent work Jewish institutions have done to try to equate Judaism with monolithic support of Israel. Zionism erases specificity, it flattens the Jewish experience, and replaces it with nationalism, something non-native to our diasporic traditions. Cassenbaum’s stories are highly personal and beautiful in their own right, but they’re also subtly subversive. There’s something extraordinarily meaningful in insisting on the pronunciation of the word bagel as bay-gel as did the immigrants who first brought the food to East London, something transcendent about spending the day at one of the only not “shit” institutions left in East London (according to “Papa Alan”). Cassenbaum’s Judaism finds holiness in the particular, finds Gd in the specific.
And it’s not just an exploration of Judaism, but of gender as well. There’s camaraderie and kinship in the maleness of the ritual. Naked men joking, kvetching, and washing together provides an alternative to the hyper individualistic image of masculinity we are so often presented with. In the schvitz men do carework for one another. They are vulnerable and honest.
The climax of the show is the schmeisis (wash) itself. Performed by an unsuspecting (and at my show at first unwilling) audience member, the moment is a physical manifestation of the vulnerability Cassenbaum shares throughout the piece. Some of the stories are tense and may leave some on edge. Never to fear, Cassenbaum leads us in deep breaths to ease us along. Now for the schmeisis he puts his (nearly) naked body in the hands of an audience member and lets the water cleanse him. It is visceral, hilarious, earnest, and profound all at once.
Directed by Danny Braverman, the show’s charisma was also aided by the simple, fruit based props (design by Bethany Wells) and the music (arranged by Daniel Gouly and Josh Middleton and played by Alex Parke and Ira Khonen Temple). The instruments were characters in themselves, often punctuating jokes or setting the scene. In addition to providing incredible music, bathrobe clad Parke and Temple were charming co-conspirators throughout the piece, often sharing mischievous grins and knowing glances.
All in all Bubble Schmeisis is a lovely exploration of gender, Judaism, family, identity, and cultural preservation. In our rapidly changing modern world it’s a beautiful tribute to all the traditions worth holding onto.
This post was written by the author in their personal capacity.The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of The Theatre Times, their staff or collaborators.
This post was written by Morgan Skolnik.
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.
