Proselytizing Remnants

Sherman play features exceptional performances and interesting set

If I were awarding stars comparing this to other plays I've seen, I would give three and a half out of five stars to Remnants, Jason Sherman's new play, currently on stage in the Tarragon Theatre's Mainspace.
Playwright Sherman has already established himself as a writer with a mission. Although all of his plays don't dwell on Jewish issues, many of them do, dealing with subjects ranging from the Jewish diaspora to Canada's immigration policies.
Remnants is a re-telling of the Biblical story of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph Taylor (a surname given to him by a Canadian immigration officer who couldn't pronounce Joseph's real name) is so much his father's favourite that his brothers become uncontrollably jealous of him. They manage to send him away to Canada, where through a series of life-changing coincidences, Joseph eventually becomes an aide to Mackenzie King. In order to accomplish this startling rise in his career, he has had to pretend to be Christian, a pretense which Mackenzie King seemingly ignores, despite the fact that Jews weren't permitted to work on the Prime Minister's Kingsmere Estate, or so the playwright tells us. As the 1939-45 War approaches, tens of thousands of European Jews become refugees, searching for a life away from Nazi-infested Europe. One of the refugee ships arriving in Canada includes Joseph's brothers and Joseph is assigned to deal with them as a Canadian official.
Part of Mackenzie King's faith in Joseph stems from the fact that they share an interest in spiritual matters, demonstrated by Joseph's forecasting the end of the Great Depression and Mackenzie King's surprising re-election in 1935.
The play starts on a very high and believable plane, as it explores the family relationships of the brothers and their father. That interest remains high almost to the end, but unfortunately the playwright has not been able to refrain from turning the ending into a rather preachy sermon. We don't need to be hit over the head quite so often in one evening with the failings of humanity in past generations. Mr. Sherman's characters all get his point across through their actions; constant verbalizing tends to diminish their true meaning. This is particularly noticeable during the wrangling between Joseph and Blair, Canada's Minister of Immigration.
All the performances are worth noting. Most of them reveal a remarkable ability and agility to double into other roles. Alex Poch-Goldin is a truly menacing Judah, as well as a silky Canadian bureaucrat. Alon Nashman, Jason Jazzrawy and Kyle Horton are some of the brothers. Dmitry Chepovetsky delves into the character of Joseph with great force, growing from a gangling youth to a mature diplomat with easy grace. Jerry Franken gives full value to both Jacob and Pottinger. In my book, top doubling honours go to Victor Ertmanis as Pishuk, the family's grizzled retainer and the arthritis-ridden Mackenzie King, who was nobody's retainer!
Richard Rose's direction is as usual for him competent and sensitive, aided to a great extent by the interesting set pieces and lighting patterns of Graeme Thomson. Mr. Thomson has put the whole play behind a scrim which from time to time becomes a fourth wall, a device not often employed for a full play. I liked it. Another Tarragon first and well worth the full houses it seems to be getting.
Remnants is playing at the Tarragon Theatre's Mainspace at 30 Bridgman Avenue, Toronto, until October 26. Tickets are available by calling 426.531.1827.

Publication Date: 2003-10-05
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3224