PicksInSix Review: The First Lady of Television - Northlight Theatre

Sherman’s Marvelous, Articulate Plunge Hits Home!
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton

This is the story of a grand storyteller named Gertrude Berg. She is the subject of James Sherman's marvelous, articulate plunge into show business history, “The First Lady of Television.” It's the latest production from Northlight Theatre currently at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie and now playing through October 12. Given the subject matter within the play—dealing with McCarthyism, the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s and the blacklist known as Red Channels—what unfolds are unsettling, almost frightening precedents of today's politics. Artistic director BJ Jones comfortably guides his ensemble through Mr. Sherman's encompassing wallop of a script, complete with meticulous research and loving dialogue.

Gertrude Berg was a pioneer of classic radio. She was one of the first people to create, write, produce, and star in a long-running hit when she premiered her comedy-drama "The Rise Of The Goldbergs" in 1929, as network radio was in its infancy. NBC ran her series, which eventually settled as "The Goldbergs," for seventeen years. Molly Goldberg was a big-hearted matriarch of a Jewish family in The Bronx. And that family—husband Jake, the always supportive Uncle David, daughter Rosalie and son Sammy—comprised a tight-knit group that went through common issues that all families experience: love and loss, celebrations of all kinds, personal growth and family discussion. It was a 15-minute show on radio. In 1949, Gertrude was able to transfer the show intact to television for a nearly ten-year run on CBS and DuMont.

The episode in question here they are shooting really doesn't matter. Molly is preparing for a July 4th celebration at home. The real drama is from outside the studio, where HUAC is making its presence known on the set. Suddenly the director Walter Hart (Joe Dempsey in a purposeful, strong turn) calls out "Hold, please!" for the umpteenth time in the rehearsal. The actor playing Loeb/"Jake" has learned that he has been listed in the pamphlet called Red Channels, along with 150 other show business types. The show's sponsor, Sanka, began to pressure Ms. Berg and the network to fire Mr. Loeb, however it got done. But such action was delayed. And delayed for well over a year. Finally, Gertrude is placed in the untenable position of deciding, on the set right then and there, whether or not to fire Mr. Loeb.

And that sets off, from the actor's reality in losing his job and fearing he'll never work again, a remarkable monologue from Mr. Sherman's pen. Mr. Loeb (the absolute best work ever from William Dick as Loeb/"Jake") takes us on an emotional, staccato journey about life. Union friendships. Family failure. Stories of literal survival at a time in America when hate filled the walls of Congress and threatened the very life of the country. Sound familiar? And Mr. Dick expertly takes us through all this with a deft combination of dread and confusion and, when it was all said and done, some inner panic for an artist who "just wants to work."

Mark David Kaplan shares such a gentle Eli Mintz/"Uncle David", so accommodating and helpful, as he becomes a kind of staff for Philip. Sarah Coakley Price as Arlene McQuade/"Rosalie" says yes, fire him. She emotionally forces a real wrench into the story with the fear that she doesn't want to lose HER job either; she just wants to move on and become what Gertrude is—star, writer, director of her own show. Ty Fanning (Larry Robinson/"Sammy") plays it all smarter than we know in showing how simply Larry negotiates his own path through the maze.

And at last, there's the great Cindy Gold in the title role. Gertrude/"Molly" is fully committed to this process. She says, in fact, that this cast is her family and she cannot abandon family for any reason. So, she gives everyone a strong boost in looking at their own stead—even Philip, the obvious tool to put away. Yes, Gertrude stays loyal right to the end. And Ms. Gold is simply wonderful in her consistent, charming take on a woman much more accomplished than people knew. It's all done within the guise of family loyalty, in a world turned upside down outside the studio, by a movement of hate ironically prescient to what many experience today. This is an ensemble play built on purpose and earnest leanings, as playwright Sherman shows us all, despite the history we think we know, what was still good in that time and place.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com  Coming soon, his new solo play “Teddy’s Last Ride.”
PHOTO | Michael Brosilow

Northlight Theatre
presents
World Premiere
The First Lady of Television
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
9501 Skokie Boulevard
through October 12, 2025

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PicksInSix Review: Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues - American Blues Theater

Generations Collide in Nostalgic ‘Ragtime Blues’
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton

The fine playwright Charles Smith has written a thoughtful play, “Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues,” now playing through June 29 at American Blues Theater's intimate space on Lincoln Avenue. He has offered up lots of food for considerable thought in what is a deceptively simple premise in this Chicago premiere expertly directed by Chuck Smith. Two characters—one, an elderly vaudevillian who does not want to give up the chase for the next laugh; and the other, a young Black teenager with a great deal of history to deal with, as well as personal anger—are thrown together in a shabby apartment to deal with each of their issues. And there are many.

It all takes place sometime in the 1990s. The fictional comedy team of Pompey and Ollie, who played a minor vaudeville circuit as well as any, are rehearsing an old routine. Pompey (such an elegant performance by ABT Ensemble Member Dennis Cockrum) has forgotten a punchline to a joke that he and Ollie (the wonderfully understated James Sherman) have done thousands of times. This is apparently a pattern of forgetfulness by Pompey, so much so that Ollie decides to break up the act. It all rattles Pompey greatly and he holds anger toward an old friend that is not necessarily justified. What it comes down to is the death of Pompey's style of humor.

Segue to Pompey’s apartment, a rundown and not-well-kept living quarters full of old cans and newspapers and laundry that needs to be done. Three weeks ago, Ollie died unexpectedly, and Pompey is so distraught that he pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot himself. He is saved by a knock on the door from his daughter Marsha (Dawn Bach in a strong offering), who has come by on a rare visit. The predictable argument between the generations is interrupted by another knock on the door. A young Black kid, whose nickname is Jet, has come to tell Marsha that her car is about to be ticketed. Soon it comes out that Marsha and Jet (Justin Banks is pretty riveting throughout) have actually talked about adoption, which upsets Pompey to no end.

Marsha finds a way to finally get out the door to take care of the car by going to the grocery store to get her father some food—all he has are endless cans of SpaghettiOs. So now the meat of the play begins. Pompey and Jet play a unique game of cat-and-mouse in letting little bits of personal story out, while each says that he really doesn't care. Jet's history is quite checkered and difficult. Fourteen different foster families. Endless stays in group homes.  His mother died of cancer; his father is in jail for an extended stay because of possession of two joints. Remember this is the early 90s, when laws about marijuana were much stricter, and minorities were overly charged and convicted in such matters.

The strengths in the Smith script are dominant here. The constant tensions that ping-pong back and forth between Pompey and Jet are admirably handled. This could sink into a battle of stereotypes, and it avoids that trap through fun ideas from the playwright's rich, creative arsenal. Pompey and Jet actually toy with the idea that they might partner up and create their own act. But Pompey's jokes are hopelessly outdated, so Jet suggests adapting some blue material from the recordings of Redd Foxx, which are hilarious on their own. We then get the privilege of seeing Pompey react to Jet's sharing in comedic horror. Then there are the highly personal moments. Jet talks painfully of seeing his mother being driven away in an ambulance, while the authorities take him into juvenile custody and, eventually, his first group home.  Pompey fights a strong feeling of irrelevance by constantly delving into his bag of show business jokes and details. It's a unique exchange that seems headed toward a kind of happy moment.  Until...

And the last ten minutes or so, I will leave for future audiences to discover. Mr. Cockrum is simply grand in his element here as the sad clown who can't find his way to happiness in life. Mr. Sherman appears in moving, ghostly form a couple of times after Ollie's death in Pompey's thoughts to help him find his way. Ms. Bach injects some informed depth into her Marsha, a woman of her time in holding down a job while feeling the attraction, however drawn she is, to a kind of motherhood. Mr. Banks is the real dramatic coin in the ensemble, making sure that Jet's generation is regarded by Pompey as more than a stereotype. In the hands of Mr. Banks, Jet is indeed a real flesh-and-blood young man playing the cards he's been dealt as well as he knows how. And it's all directed with the usual expert eloquence by the wonderful director Chuck Smith. The experience here is noble, nostalgic, achingly personal and deserves all praise.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com  Coming soon, his new solo play “Teddy’s Last Ride.”

PHOTO|Michael Brosilow

American Blues Theater
presents
Chicago Premiere
Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues
5627 N Lincoln
through June 29, 2025

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For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

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PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC