'Donkey's' future so bright, even God's wearing shades
By Chad Jones, STAFF WRITER
JUST in time for Passover comes a slightly irreverent play that might make Moses himself cry out: "Let my people go to the theater!"

If your vision of Moses is dominated by Charlton Heston in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments," perhaps you should consider another interpretation of one of the planet's most famous stories.

"God's Donkey," subtitled "A Play on Moses," is a great place to start if you want to be reminded that Moses was just a man carrying quite a load.

As written by director Corey Fischer and performers Aaron Davidman and Eric Rhys Miller, "God's Donkey" aims to be a serious examination of Moses' life and his relationship with God and a fun, physical, music-filled night of theater.

The play succeeds beautifully on all counts.

"God's Donkey" had its premiere at San Francisco's A Traveling Jewish Theatre nearly 21/2 years ago, then embarked on a successful tour. Now the "Donkey" has come home to conclude ATJT's 24th season.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

At the Thursday night re-opening, Fischer and Davidman were joined on stage by multi-talented musician Daniel Hoffman, composer of the show's scintillating score.

Hoffman begins the 80-minute show with a plaintive violin solo that effectively sets the tone for what is to follow. The passionate music is mournful, then cautiously joyous.

This Biblical epic in miniature begins at the dawn of time, not in the Garden of Eden, but with the evolution of man. Miller and Fischer make their entrances as swiftly evolving creatures from the churning biological stew of the sea. They sprout legs, begin to walk and boom! Next thing you know, the Jews are enslaved in Egypt.

Moses, played by a creatively used swatch of burlap, is born into a grim world in which Jewish boy babies are drowned. As every Sunday school student knows, Moses' sister Miriam saved him from this fate by putting him into a basket and letting him float through the bulrushes of the Nile. The Pharaoh's daughter found him and raised him as a royal.

What you might not know about this story is that the "daughter of the king is a wild thing" and that she "has a Hebrew thing."

In a song that incorporates hip-hop street beats and some groovy R&B, we're told that Pharaoh's daughter really wanted a Jewish plaything.

Moses grows from an infant burlap bundle into wonderfully expressive Davidman (ATJT's artistic director). Equally dynamic Miller plays everyone else, from an Egyptian slave toiling on the pyramids to God Himself, played as a mysterious, slightly menacing beat poet complete with "cool, man" sunglasses.

"This is where history starts," God tells Moses. "The time has come for time to come."

But Moses, a humble shepherd, is an unlikely leader. A profound stutterer, Moses balks at God's commands. "I am heavy of mouth, heavy of tongue," Moses manages to say.

But God knows Moses is a man born for greatness, and that is that.

In spite of his weakness, Moses stands up to Pharaoh (played by a rather scary rubber puppet) and overcomes opposition amongst Jews who think he is a "religious fanatic exploiting us to build his own power base."

As God commanded, Moses carries his people on his back and nurses them from his breast. The plagues descend upon Egypt, and Pharaoh (played this time by a fierce Miller) fights to the last.

The Jews are eventually freed, and although ATJT does not have the special effects budget of "The Ten Commandments," the parting of the Red Sea is still effective and poignant as the Jews awaken to their liberation.

Played out on Richard Olmsted's simply, abstractly designed desert set, "God's Donkey" is a thrilling piece of theater infused with humor, energy and heart by two fantastic actors. The storytelling is given added emotional depth by Hoffman's music, which he plays on violin, electric guitar and various percussive instruments.

Even for all its light touches and theatrical flair, "God's Donkey" is ultimately as moving as it is entertaining when Moses, old and weary of carrying his people, is taken up and carried by his God.

You can e-mail Chad Jones at cjones@angnewspapers.com or call (925) 416-4853.

Presented by: A Traveling Jewish Theatre

Where: 470 Florida St., San Francisco

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; no performance April 17; closes April 27

Tickets: $25 with senior and student discounts; Thursdays are pay what you can"

Info: (415) 399-1809; http://www.atjt.com