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Review: Beau Jest at Cherry Creek Theatre

Review: Beau Jest at Cherry Creek Theatre

Everyone wants to please their parents, but it isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Beau Jest shows just how hard it is to please family, but also how much more rewarding it is to be honest with them.

Cherry Creek Theatre put on their productions at the Jewish Community Center, so every season they try to work in a play with Jewish themes that the center can promote as a part of their cultural offerings. Written by James Sherman, Beau Jest tells the story of Sarah, a Jewish woman so concerned with being the perfect daughter that she hires an actor to pretend to be the perfect Jewish doctor boyfriend. Doing so sets a ridiculous chain of events in motion that disrupts love, lives, and images, but ultimately shows that telling the truth and following your heart lead to the most happiness.

This romantic comedy relies a lot on understanding Jewish culture to get the jokes, but that isn’t a downfall of the story. The actors on stage celebrate Jewish traditions, but Bob, the actor, can’t keep up and is always a step behind. It’s easy to pick up on the fact that he is messing up these traditions and making a fool of himself, just as it’s clear to tell when his attempts at pretending to be a doctor are falling flat (such as explaining that he operates on both hearts and brains).

Cherry Creek executes the performance well, with spot-on acting and believable props. The theater itself is small and intimate, which in this case only adds to the enjoyability of the performance. In terms of content and the final product from the theatre, there really isn’t much to complain about here. The story is straightforward and enjoyable, and the dialogue is witty. For those who are familiar with Jewish culture or come from a more traditional Jewish family, there are even more laughs to be had. And while there are no openly queer characters in the play, the story of being yourself and not letting familiar traditions dictate love can easily be translated to a queer message.

Beau Jest runs Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday through December 10, so catch it while you can this weekend or next at the Jewish Community Center. Get tickets here!

Photos by Olga Lopez

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