Prolific, award-winning and long-lived (he died in 2020 at the age of 81) American playwright/writer/actor/director Israel Horovitz boasts over 70 produced plays in the US and internationally. He’s also the most produced American playwright in France, ever, (where he often directed French versions of his work). Not all that surprising, given that he divided his time between France and the States for most of his life.
No wonder Horovitz understands the French psyche, societal, and institutional norms so well – and can skewer their specific quirks alongside more universal failings of the human condition. Of all his plays, MY OLD LADY, which premiered in 1996 and appeared Off-Broadway in 2002, may be his most French. Horovitz, himself, stated: “I wanted to write a love letter to Paris when I wrote the play.” And now West Boca Theatre Company (WBTC) is presenting this often-cited yet seldom-seen Horovitz tragicomedy at the Levis JCC Sandler Center through January 22. As for whether or not it should be called “a love letter”? I’ll leave you to decide for yourself.
One thing I did decide, practically from the onset, is that despite WBTC’s use of a 2015 revised edition of the script which sets the Time in “The present,” the play still feels like a throwback to at least several decades earlier – both in furnishings and dialogue. Levis JCC Resale Boutique, once again, proved indispensable in providing claw-footed, faded gold brocade sofas and chairs which brought up memories of my parents’ proud 1960s purchases that might have lasted three decades (they looked properly shabby) but I doubt six! There were also references to Nazi collaborators and intrinsic French antisemitism which predated Hitler’s arrival (including castigation of family members) that just didn’t make memory sense, given the contemporary timeline.
But these are just minor quibbles. The three actors, two of whom are called upon to speak fluent French (mostly small sentences that are explained) are perfectly cast, as is the uncomprehending American. I’d like to thank directors Holly Budney and Alan Nash for continuing this season’s bilingual motif (purposely or not) by following their much-Hebrew-spoken contemporary earlier show, Handle with Care, with classic, French-sprinkled My Old Lady. We can all feel very cosmopolitan in Boca. And now look forward to vicariously spending time in a magnificent, multi-room apartment in the heart of Paris – that even comes with its own garden!
The building which houses this apartment was built by Mathilde Girard’s grandfather, and the apartment remained in the family till she’d sold it 43 years ago when her husband died. But Mathilde still lives there because of an archaic and uniquely French real estate practice known as viager (for life). Wherein by selling an apartment for a significantly below-market price, the seller can live there till they die. Not only rent-free, but also supported by monthly payments from the buyer.
In Madame Girard’s case, the buyer’s monthly fee is 2,400 euro. Which now Mathias – the American who’d suddenly showed up because he’d inherited the place from his deceased dad, Max – is required to pay. Mathilde Girard is 92 years old, though she only admits to 90, isn’t dying anytime soon, and remains happily ensconced with her middle-aged daughter, Chloe, in their humongous, but gradually falling into disrepair.
Nikki Saed’s expansive experience both as a modern language teacher (including French) and as a theater actor and director shows in her nuanced, passionate, self-justifying, at times compassionate, but always very Parisian enactment of Catholic (of the post WWII-era) Mathilde Girard. Her daughter Chloe, played by bilingual (in English and French) actress Celine Hakoun, is celebrated for her character portrayals in California, South Florida, and also in film. So, of course, Hakoun rocks her French accent as well as her spot-on portrayal of, at first, inflamed by righteous anger but ultimately vulnerable, wounded and caring Chloe Girard. Who, like everyone here and everywhere, it would seem, just needs to be loved.
arrives in Paris toting all his worldly possessions and expects to stay in his inherited
apartment. Photo by Mark Hernandez.
Which brings us to the “most needy” character of them all – emotionally traumatized and damaged-by-life Mathias “Jim” Gold, absolutely believably portrayed by Alan Goodman. I, for one, am very pleased that this decades-long TV and advertising writer/producer/director decided to “rekindle his love for stage acting in October 2023 after a 53-year hiatus” (though he must have started as a toddler!). He’s since taken South Florida theater by storm.
After a lifetime of being down in his luck – both financially and romantically (these two being linked by payments for his three failed marriages) – Mathias (an unpublished author who is technically Jewish but as religiously bankrupt as the rest) feels his “loser virus” may have finally been cured when he inherits his deceased father’s Parisian apartment (along with a gold watch and two dusty boxes of “useless” French books, as he doesn’t speak French).
Mathias’s father, with whom he’d never gotten along, leaves the rest of his holdings to charity. So “Jim” the name he prefers to go by, but not the French, sells his few meager belongings for a one-way ticket to Paris. He arrives at Mathilde Girard’s doorstep (having no idea who she is and why she’s there) with only one carry-on bag, hoping for a quick sale of the property so he can use the funds to survive … and maybe figure out the rest of his life.
Sparks fly between Mathilde’s daughter Chloe and Mathias as soon as they, unexpectedly, meet. Sparks of pure hate (at least at Chloe’s end) in Act 1, quickly replaced by attraction, interest, maybe even love, in Act II. Leaving one to wonder if those strong electrical charges of hate and love can actually be two sides of the same coin.
Having visited France years ago – and having been subjected to French attitudes of superiority (where even tourists are only addressed in French) – I can easily believe that the non-English speaking lawyer who handled Mathias’s Paris apartment couldn’t care less if the American inheritor was left in the dark about the unusual circumstance, and drawbacks, of his “windfall.”
Act I can be seen as a comedy of errors. And character introductions where our sympathies are prone to bounce around (even the most selfish, which they all are, can occasionally appear gracious and so earn a pass for “being human”). Clever repartee abounds. When Madame Gerard and Mathias enjoy jazz riffs together, the old lady nostalgically shares how she’d once had a carefree fling with the great jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Adding: “The world was different then; the war had just ended. We were intellectuals, artists … we expressed ourselves openly.” To which Mathias wryly reflects: “Like the sixties without the acid.”
Act II quickly descends into a shit show of horrors. Shocking revelations from the past – with each scene revealing ever-more horrifying truths about deceased ancestors and family members – bring us into the realm of high tragedy. There’s little to laugh about. Still Horovitz does, to his credit, not only provide the audience with a greater understanding of his characters, he allows those characters to understand and sympathize with one another. The final familial “reveal” may still be obtuse; nevertheless the play ends on a hopeful note of bringing all three together as a family of sorts who can support one another. Proving that when light is shed on even the worst of secrets and circumstances, healing can begin and make way for a brighter future.
I don’t know if this was the playwright’s conscious intent, but his flawed and hurting characters stayed with me and gave me a lot to think about long after the play ended. For instance: Does meeting “the love of your life” justify ongoing betrayal of both one’s own marriage and that of the other party? And if your loving and attentive paramour acts very differently around others – can the fact of your intense relationship be the root cause of such cruelty (even if unintentional) inflicted upon the family of their more prosaic life?
come to help one another in WBTC’s production of MY OLD LADY by Israel Horovitz.
Pictured: Celine Hakoun as Chloe and Alan Goodman as Mathias. Photo by Mark
Hernandez.
Can a man (or woman, for that matter) ever truly hide the reality of a secret love affair from their spouse? And if you attempt to do so, will your subterfuge cause extreme emotional distress not only to your legal partner, but to everyone around you – especially the children? Young innocents who, at least in the scenarios presented here, are subjected to life-long emotional trauma through no fault of their own.
Co-director Holly Budney was also in charge of set decoration, costumes, and all the lovely classic French melodies which welcomed us to the theater and punctuated the scenes, culminating with everyone’s favorite, “I Love Paris (in the springtime).” Stage manager Mark Hernandez also joined co-director/producer Alan Nash in scenic design, build, and tech.
For a classic dramedy with oodles of plot twists and shocking surprises, don’t miss your chance to see WBTC’s excellent production of MY OLD LADY by renowned American master (and beloved by the French) playwright Israel Horovitz. Playing only through January 22 at the Levis JCC Sandler Center, 21050 95th Avenue S., Boca Raton 33428. Tickets at levisjcc.org/theater or call 561-558-2520. While at the website, be sure to check out the rest of their thought-provoking season.
The post ‘MY OLD LADY’ Confronts the Past in WBTC’s Very French Dramedy appeared on South Florida Theater.
