Raw Street Productions presents ‘The Eighth Fish of Christmas’

I shot my husband a sideways glance. As a Jew who married into a large Italian family, the two of us have often made the same joke. Two cultures, separated by a language, a strong messianic opinion… and not much else. (Ahead of my husband’s first visit to meet my family, my grandmother asked me if my then-boyfriend was Jewish. When I said "No, but he’s a lawyer," she said, “That’s good enough.”)

Relatable relatives

There’s something universal about Eighth Fish. Everyone in the audience can identify with having a family that’s awkward in its own way, especially with a new person joining the fold. Who hasn’t shuddered to think what Uncle Mickey (played here with gusto by Jeffrey Adam Baxt) will say when your new partner meets the family? Who hasn’t worried that the strong-but-silent family patriarch (David Owen Cashell’s Pop) is unhappy, only to receive his blessing? And, really, who doesn’t know that it’s the family matriarch who’s really in charge? Director Freddie Lozzie (Wolf’s brother) plays Nonnie for laughs in drag, since the original cast member dropped out at the eleventh hour.

Eighth Fish is at its best — and most relatable — in its funny moments. When Anita’s boyfriend, David (Jeff Barg, a longtime friend of mine) arrives bearing gefilte fish, the family debates the correct pronunciation of the gelatinous Ashkenazi dish and politely feigns interest in it before David reveals that he actually hates gefilte fish and brought it as a joke — the titular eighth fish for the family’s traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes. I never had the opportunity to serve gefilte fish to my husband’s late grandmother, but she did struggle to pronounce one of my family’s old-world recipes over Christmas dinner in our first apartment.

As Anita, Wolf (the playwright as well as Raw Street cofounder and artistic director) captures the chaos of a large, loving family, through pitch-perfect nonverbal reactions to the constant commotion around her. Director Lozzi gets lots of laughs as Nonnie.

Baxt, along with Susan and Gracie Hudson (as Mickey’s wife, Marie, and daughter, Rita) provide something of a Greek chorus to this Italian family. They toe the line between stereotype (Uncle Mickey wears a black tracksuit and fedora to Christmas dinner) and sympathetic characters.

Laughs over intimacy

As enjoyable and well-executed as the play’s comedy is, the more intimate moments of the show — while heartfelt — don't land so consistently. Anita and Jesse share a lovely but lengthy 3am conversation about Anita’s recent divorce and Jesse’s newfound legal troubles. Nonnie’s monologue to her daughters and granddaughters about being a strong Italian woman could have been better resolved in just a few lines (perhaps if Lozzi hadn’t played Nonnie primarily for laughs, the scene could have been a more natural fit). And couple Anita and David, whom we never get to see alone, miss a chance for the audience to truly root for them.

David does get a one-on-one with Jesse, though. A lawyer-in-training, David comes into Jesse’s confidence unexpectedly in a scene that effectively bridges comedy and earnestness. After fading into the background during a family argument, David does get the opportunity to prove what it is Anita sees in him, better rounding out his character.

Eighth Fish is a fun show about family dynamics almost anybody can relate to. Though the script and direction pay more attention to the funny moments than the quieter ones, there are enough laughs to make up for it. Staged at Connie’s Ric Rac in the Italian Market, the play also benefits from the proximity between actors and audience, and the ready availability of beverages from the bar, making it a nice way to spend an evening in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Connie’s Ric Rac is a wheelchair-accessible venue.