by dan pine
staff writer
Throw a neo-Nazi and a Jewish attorney onto a stage and it isn’t hard to generate theatrical heat. But truly blazing drama requires skilled playwriting, subtle acting and deft direction. All three are on ample display in “Cherry Docs,” now closing out the 26th season of San Francisco’s Traveling Jewish Theatre in a West Coast premiere run.
Written by Canadian playwright David Gow, “Cherry Docs” pulls off the rare trick of making palatable a thoroughly unpleasant subject. In this case, it is the story of a racist punk awaiting trial in Toronto for the murder of a Pakistani man, and the Jewish lawyer who reluctantly agrees to represent him.
Divided into seven “days,” the action spans the better part of a year as the pair struggle just to stay in the same room with each other, then slowly and painfully arrive at a measure of mutual redemption.
The title refers to the cherry-colored Doc Martin boots Mike (the skinhead) wears as part of his paramilitary uniform. Played with stunning ferocity by Eric Rhys Miller, Mike is a model of shaven-headed menace. Decked out in a sleeveless orange prison jumpsuit, he lashes out with violent kicks and punches, the tai chi of hate.
The yang to his yin is Danny, a Jewish Toronto-based attorney who can barely disguise his revulsion at having to take this case. As Danny, TJT artistic director Aaron Davidman gives an equally tour-de-force performance.
In alternating monologues, both characters reveal much about their past and present lives. Danny describes his fascination with Kabbalah and his dedication to multiculturalism. From his prison cell, Mike gives a guided tour of his self-carved prison tattoos.
Between those monologues, Gow places his characters in a drab room where they emotionally circle each other like hungry tigers. After eliciting a modicum of cooperation from his Jew-hating client, Danny decides Mike must design his own “cogent, brilliant defense strategy.” His directive: simply explain why he did the crime.
Because Mike is intelligent, he begins to take his defense seriously, which leads invariably to confronting the deepest truths about his crime and twisted ideology.
As they get to know each other, their conversations move beyond the mere facts of the case. Danny likes to study Torah. Mike used to play street hockey. Over time, both men begin to question their own orthodoxies.
“Cherry Docs” reaches an unexpected climax when Danny forces Mike to read a statement from his victim, dictated apparently from a hospital deathbed. The ensuing violence shocks the audience as much as it shocks the two characters, both of whom emotionally backslide and move forward in fits and starts.
Director Naomi Newman’s hand is lightly felt, and she deserves credit for allowing her actors the room they need to inhabit their characters. Likewise, the sparse set and spot-on music choices ably serve Newman’s vision.
Still nothing beats a great actor at the top of his game. When Danny weeps over his father’s tallit, then links the fabric of the prayer shawl to the fabric of society, the audience witnesses nothing less than sheer poetry in emotion.
Like the 1998 film “American History X,” “Cherry Docs” probes the ethical evolution of a racist. Because Gow pairs his skinhead with Danny –– a man who harbors demons of his own –– the play ends up revealing even more about the nature of hate. Advantage, “Cherry Docs.”
In a late scene, Danny reveals a personal crisis and seeks consolation from Mike. It feels tacked on, but this is minor quibbling. At the end of the play, as Miller and Davidman take their curtain call, they bow to each other. And well they should. Both give unforgettable performances in a must-see production.
“Cherry Docs” plays 7 p.m. Sundays, 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, with 2 p.m. Sunday matinees, through June 5 at Traveling Jewish Theater, 470 Florida St., S.F. The play also will run June 9 -19 at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave., Berkeley. Tickets: $12-$35. Information: (415) 285-8080.
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California