Reviews
Jews, God, and History
Michael Takiff delivers one punch to the gut after another in his Jews, God, and History (Not Necessarily in That Order), a stark look at anti-Semitism and losing faith in a deity that would allow the Holocaust to happen.
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There is much poetry and beautifully expressed angst in this monologue [Act II, Scene 2]. It would be difficult to find deeper emotional or intellectual arguments about the horror unleashed by the Holocaust.
The work is not without humor and wit; nevertheless, Takiff turns himself inside out, scouring his heart, to show that his atheism is fully in line with his reaction to this horrible history which, ironically, reinforced his Jewishness.
Takiff is a skilled performer who never loses the audience no matter how angry or sardonic he gets.
In Jews, God, and History (Not Necessarily in that Order), writer and performer Michael Takiff melds his prodigious intelligence and expert showmanship to illuminate the darkest (and most tender) moments in the life and mind of the modern American Jew. Some of Jews and God is shocking. Some is heartbreakingly, intimately familiar. In its entirety, Takiff’s brilliant one-man show answers the question What is a Jew? in an entirely new, but deeply ancient, way.
Can an atheist serve as a guide to the history, customs, and longevity of the Jewish religion and its adherents? Moreover, how can an atheist recognize that a man who has just died is with God? At first glance, this seems quite absurd. Yet neither for Michael Takiff nor for his audience does it appear to be a problem. Jews, God, and History (Not Necessarily in That Order), Takiff’s one-man show, is a roller-coaster ride through Jewish belief, identity, and practice.
Hi! Drama
Michael Takiff’s JEWS, G-D, AND HISTORY (NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER) is highly amusing and gets deadly serious in the second act when he talks about the Holocaust and his father’s death.
AUDIENCE RESPONSE
“Profound and totally captivating. Brilliant, revelatory, inspired. Thought- and faith-provoking. A challenging tour de force, conceived and executed to perfection.”
A.M.
“A wonderful portrayal of the human experience. Michael is incredibly talented – very funny, very intense. The show evoked a lot of anger and a lot of sorrow.”
J.T.
“Funny, moving, and thought-provoking, sometimes all at once.”
K.M.
“An amazing performance. I’m enormously impressed with Michael’s ability to change his persona from one to another to another to another, with humor. It’s important for people to see the piece, whether you are a believer or not, because of the way we live and the questions we have.”
A.S.
“I’ve never seen such a vibrant, intelligent combination of humorous and tragic.”
B.M.
“In this age of Twitter and short attention spans, it is so refreshing to spend time listening to content unfold over time that’s in-depth and rigorous, that builds a philosophical argument grounded in specific stories, allowing the audience to engage deeply with ideas. Michael’s show gives us time to think.”
K.S.
“Michael has a way of making us think and making us laugh. For me it was an education. Just a raw, powerful performance. I was moved throughout.”
K.F.
“The show was exciting and funny and difficult. It’s what I think theater is all about, to make you think and feel, to have strong emotions. A very gratifying piece.”
B.F.
“Michael is brilliant. He can dance, he can sing, he can put into words whatever you’re thinking about. You just get it. You smile, you think, you reflect, you smile again, you feel. It’s easy to gloss over things these days. This show I’ll be taking with me. It was simply terrific.”
V.A.
“There are truths common in every religion, and there are truths common in every family, and there are questions we have about these truths. The show addresses all of them in an approachable way. It was reverent, it was irreverent, it was funny, it was truthful. I really, really enjoyed it.”
M.M.
Black Tie
“A rare mix of sharp intelligence and deep feeling, Filled with vital insights into a man's unending love for a difficult dad.”
DirectorTalk.com
“Michael Takiff has a story to tell: a father, a son, a family; a country in depression, war, and peace. It's his story, yet it’s everyone’s story—coming to terms with loss as we find our way forward in life. He imbues small moments with humor and significance, and all we can do is watch, riveted in our seats.”
Jimmy Roberts, Composer of Off Broadway's long-running
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
“Full of wonderful energy, intelligence, irony, and feeling. Black Tie made me think and remember”
J.B.
“Deep and funny and performed with authenticity. It's not just that Michael Takiff is a pro—he's an artist.”
F.B.
“I was impressed and moved by the complexity and depth of the writing and by the versatility of the performance. Beautifully done.”
M.L.
“A brilliant piece of writing, performed with passion, humor, and gravitas. A unique and powerful work that should be seen by many.”
S.S.
“Black Tie has music. Black Tie has song. Black Tie has dance. And Black Tie combines all these delightful attributes with such perceptive writing—dialogue, if you will, with one’s father—that when I looked around at the audience during the show, I saw many tears among the laughter, many heads nodding in recognition of the truths about their own fathers that they were in the throes of acknowledging.
“I could see so many ‘Ah yes, that was my father too,’ in their faces that we were an audience of children, collectively channeling our own fathers in Michael’s.”
J.L.
