A New York family's bonds are tested in a witty portrait of late-20th century Jewish American life. Tracy-Ann Oberman shines as secrets spill and fortunes turn at two Christmas gatherings – 20 years apart
Late 20th century Jewish-American history rocks around the Christmas tree, as we join Julie and her fractious family for festive celebrations at her spacious Upper West Side apartment. The Assembled Parties opens in 1980 and Ronald Reagan has just been elected US president, much to the chagrin of these liberal New Yorkers. But Julie’s indefatigable sunniness will not be dimmed. “Yes, yes, yes!” she exclaims at the mundane vegetable cutting by Jeff, the Harvard friend of her son Scott, as if witnessing an old master at work.
James Cotterill’s design emphasises the apartment’s vastness by placing characters on a revolving stage, spinning through rooms, and the audience feels as engulfed and disorientated by the setting as Jeff. The multifaceted set also allows access to the same moment in time through different characters’ perspectives – an experience enhanced by the deftly timed, whip smart and, often overlapping, dialogue courtesy of the late playwright Richard Greenberg.
Jennifer Westfeldt’s Julie anchors the drama with an almost confessional intimacy. “My learning curve can’t even curve,” she responds to her sister-in-law Faye’s waspish remark, “You always think the best of everyone. It’s not helpful.” In fact, Faye (Tracy-Ann Obeman) has all the best lines: “Republican Jews, what is that? Like fat thin people?” Oberman balances Faye’s backstory of stymied potential through unplanned pregnancy with ferocious wit and intelligence. “I tried not to be the woman at the party in the kitchen having a nervous breakdown,” she says of her past.
Faye and Julie’s spirited bond is the axis around which the rags-to-rubies family drama reverberates. Jeff, in Sam Marks’ nuanced performance, is constantly stepping into shoes he cannot quite fill. He is also the bridge linking the play’s two parts. In the second half, the story resumes at a Christmas gathering 20 years later in the same apartment. Despite Jeff having made his fortune in Chicago in the two intervening decades, he cannot erase the underdog status imprinted by his first visit as the gauche, poorer pal to Scott (Alexander Marks). People, willingly or otherwise, accepting the roles foisted upon them is one of the great themes of the play. Recent RADA graduate Julia Kass makes fine work of being the taciturn exception to the rule, as Faye’s daughter Shelley.
The second half is set during the Christmas before George W Bush’s inauguration. Julie’s husband Ben (Daniel Abelson) has died years ago and a sense of decline hangs in the air. The apartment is shabbier now, with leaky ceilings, and Julie’s money woes are symbolised by a static, dimly-lit room. In the corner a puny Christmas tree, a shadow of the centre stage fir of 20 years ago, is braced for the desultory decorations Faye and Jeff will inflict upon it. Widowed Faye is thriving, in blow-out blonde hair, cream suit and designer bag, surprised to find herself missing marriage to blunt Mort (David Kennedy) – “we were never Tevye and Golde.”
As Faye and Jeff hatch plans to maintain the now more fragile Julie as the centre of their solar system, Julie’s insight into her son’s “meshuggah girlfriends” and intergenerational parental expectations opens up a new chapter – less Great Expectations and more kosher Christmas Carol. It’s a suitable ending to this heartfelt and pacy production.
By Susan Gray
Photos by Helen Murray
The Assembled Parties runs until Saturday 22 November. 7.30pm (Mon, Wed & Thu only), 2.30pm (Sat only). From £25. Hampstead Theatre, London, NW3 3EU. hampsteadtheatre.com