Tonight, my husband, Kevin, and I attended a play called Beau Jest. It was quite an amusing play with a serious story. The main character is Jewish, with very Jewish parents. She begins to date a nice young man who is not Jewish. After she tells her parents about it, they freak out. They freak out so much that she tells them she broke up with her boyfriend, Chris, and then continues to date him on the sly.
After she “breaks up” her mother begins setting her up on numerous dates and to stop that, she invents a boyfriend whom she met at a friend’s wedding. This invented boyfriend, David, is a Jewish Surgeon which thrills her parents. After hounding her for quite some time to meet said boyfriend, she calls an escort service and hires an actor, Bob, to play David. He’s a hit with the family, or the parents at the very least. While it was supposed to be just a one time gig, he comes back again and again to play David. Remember, this whole time she is still dating Chris, who does not approve of what she is doing but supports her anyway.
Eventually she falls in love with Bob, who plays David. She begins dating him, however, she does not tell Chris about it and after telling her mom that David had proposed (without telling Bob until the last second). Naturally, everything spirals out of control and unravels in one scene, which was my husband’s favorite.
Her parents are so wounded by the fact that she would lie to them that her father has a “warning” heart attack and her mother almost can’t speak to her. In the end they display acceptance, they agree to set everything out on the table and be upfront and honest with each other instead of holding back, always worrying about another person worrying.
I enjoyed going to this show with my husband. Oma, my mom, kept Spencer, our 3 month old, so we were able to go which I trully appreciate. I love going to plays and other performances but don’t get to go as much as I’d like.
I am grateful that there are still people that enjoy performing live theatre. Not everything is slipping to movies as I once heard an older couple saying. I don’t think theatre will ever disappear because there are too many people that enjoy a live performance.
