To placate her helicoptering Jewish-American parents, Sarah Goldman recruits an actor named Bob Schroeder to play a real-life role, that a Jewish doctor by the name of David Steinberg whom she’s passing off as her boyfriend. Complications of the comedic, rom-com variety ensue.
That’s “Beau Jest,” the 1989 play written by James Sherman that has been a staple of both professional and community-theater productions for decades. Its appeal, says actor/director Omri Schein, resides in its sheer relatability.
“It is technically a ‘Jewish play’ but it’s very universal,” said Schein, who is directing North Coast Repertory Theatre’s production of “Beau Jest” in Solana Beach. “At the end of the day it’s about relationships between parents and their children.
“You don’t have to be Jewish, you don’t have to be anything to relate to that story. It continues to be done in theaters all across the United States, even in communities without a large Jewish population.”
San Diego actor, director and playwright Omri Schein. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Schein has had experience on both ends of a production of “Beau Jest.” In 2017, he appeared as Sarah Goldman’s therapist-brother Joel in a Lamb’s Players Theatre production of the comedy in Coronado, for which he earned a Craig Noel acting nomination from the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle. He appreciates the opportunity to now direct “Beau Jest” and the differences at the helm from performing in it.
“When you’re in show all you do is basically concentrate on your path as a character,” Schein said. “You’re not that concerned about the story as a whole. As the director, your job is to tell the entire story and know all the characters’ journeys.”
As for touch and tone “Beau Jest” requires “telling the story and keeping it honest,” said Schein. “When directing a comedy, especially myself who tends to lean toward shtick sometimes, it’s up to me to make sure it doesn’t go too far. Yes, it has to be funny, but we still have to tell the story truthfully. It’s a romantic comedy about family.
“I don’t think the play relies very much on stereotypes, which is a good thing. These (characters) are just people we can all relate to.”
The North Coast Rep cast of “Beau Jest” features two local actors – Sam Ashdown as Bob Schroeder, and Benjamin Cole, who is North Coast Rep’s director of theater school education and outreach, as Sarah’s actual WASP boyfriend Chris Cringle (yes, that’s his name).
Completing the ensemble are out-of-town actors Josh Cahn (as Joel Goldman), Katrina Michaels (as Sarah) and Joel Polis and Jill Remez as Sarah’s parents Abe and Miriam. All four of the Jewish characters in the play are portrayed by Jewish actors.
“They’re a charming, talented group of people,” Schein said of his entire cast. “It’s been smooth sailing.”
Schein will return to North Coast Rep in July but on stage this time when the theater opens its production of “Scapin,” an adaptation of Moliere’s commedia dell’arte romp.
“I actually enjoy the going back and forth (between writing, directing and acting) so it’s not repetitive,” he said. “I’m a multitasker. That’s one of my strengths.”
That versatility will be on display in the summer of 2027, too, when North Coast Rep which will stage Schein’s and Daniel M. Lincoln’s musical adaptation of the novel “Gene Wilder’s My French Whore.”
‘Beau Jest’
When: Preview, tonight. Opens Saturday and runs through May 17. 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. and Sundays
Where: North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach
Tickets: $53.50-$68.50
Phone: 858-481-1055
Online: northcoastrep.org