Bad Jews

In a nifty post-show feature at the Roundabout's production of the winning comedy "Bad Jews," audience members are asked to share their stance on the play's central argument. Markers and Sticky Notes are made available in the lobby after each performance, where patrons literally post their thoughts on the wall. (Some of them even include hashtags.)

The conflict in question revolves around three twenty-something cousins in a well-to-do Jewish family, who convene in Manhattan for their grandfather's funeral. Apparently, their beloved Poppy left behind an ornamental necklace called a "chai" that wasn't bequeathed in the Will. Daphna Feygenbaum (Tracee Chimo) is the most traditional and devout of the cousins, and she strongly feels that the jewelry, an explicitly religious artifact, should go to her.

"I'm the only one this stuff even matters to," she tells Jonah Haber (Philip Ettinger), her younger cousin. It's the evening after the funeral and before the first day of sitting Shiva; she's consigned to Jonah's studio apartment for the night. "It makes sense that the person who religion like actually really means something to should get it."

Sounds sensible enough, but soon Jonah's brother Liam (Michael Zegen) arrives with his gorgeous "shiksa" girlfriend Melody (Molly Ranson) in tow. As soon as he steps on stage, the resentments that have been simmering for years set into a slow boil.

Liam also has a legitimate claim to the necklace, which he says their grandfather gave him for reasons best not to give away here. All of this is just a pretext, however, for a clash between their opposing worldviews: Liam claims that Dapha's religiosity is merely self-righteous and self-serving, Daphna says that Liam is a "bad Jew" with no respect for the sacred. It's a rift as large as the one that divides America itself, the conflict between traditionalism and progressivism.

The array of comments tacked onto the lobby wall, evenly split across designated sections for Team Liam and Team Daphna, shows that playwright Joshua Harmon played fair. For me, though, it was clearly no question, and I couldn't help but scrawl my esteemed critic's opinion on the Team Liam side: "Daphna is just a bitch."

It's true: Whatever Liam's flaws, Miss Feygenbaum is the most unsympathetic of the bunch; like many who wear their religion on their sleeve, her declarations about faith and culture have more to do with inflicting judgments than bettering herself.

Nevertheless, one gets the sense that she manages to uncover some stinging truths when she lashes into Liam over the likeable but slightly na�ve Melody. While her immediate scorn of the girl is deplorable, and ultimately boils down to the fact that her cousin is dating outside the tribe, her remarks seem to touch a nerve when she accuses him of also constantly dating below his intellect.

That none of this comes off as heavy-handed is a testament to both Harmon's punchy and humorous script as well as the wonderfully naturalistic acting. Some of the longer monologues feel slightly ham-fisted on the page, but the young cast delivers them with grace and ease.

Only Chimo falters a bit as Daphna, and only because her pinched, nasal, dare I say Jew-y inflections border on the affected -- though it's debatable whether that affectation is the actor's or the character's.

And Jonah? He isn't much of a presence at all, at least initially. He's given very little to do or say beyond the repeated insistence that he doesn't want to get involved. (And, really, who can blame him?) It's his lone appearance that opens the play, wearing nothing but a wrinkled shirt and pair of boxers, staring dead-eyed at a video game.

Throughout, he can't even be bothered to put on pants, much less stake a major claim in the action, but a bizarre revelation at the end shows he may have cared more than anyone else about Poppy's legacy. Sometimes, alas, an indifferent position is the only noble one.

#TeamJonah, I guess.

"Bad Jews" runs through Dec. 29 at the Laura Pells Theatre, 111 West 46th Street. For info or tickets, call 212-719-1300 or visit roundabouttheatre.org