Seth Rozin's "Two Jews Walk Into a War'

Seth Rozin's Two Jews Walk Into a War is cleverly titled, signaling that it's a comedy. But make no mistake, he has written a thoughtful examination of faith and a yearning for tradition in a changing world.

A beautifully written first scene reveals the last two Jews left in a bombed-out synagogue in Kabul, Afghanistan during the current war. Ishaq is religiously observant, Zeblyan more secular. They've never liked each other, but now they're thrown together in shared isolation.

Aside from its greater seriousness, Two Jews Walk Into a War recalls Neil Simon's comedy The Odd Couple and, even more so, Simon's The Sunshine Boys (1972), about the reunion of a vaudevillian team who hated each other. Two Jews, indeed, takes a vaudeville form, with a series of blackouts between short scenes.

Distrusting each other, the two men have differing plans for the future of Afghan Jewry. One wants to repopulate by converting one woman who will then bear his children; the other wants to build a magnificent new temple to attract Jews from other nations. Of course, both ideas are ridiculous, and the men eventually turn towards a slightly more practical idea.

The synagogue's Torahs have been destroyed. Ishaq, who knows the text from memory, decides to dictate word by word so Zeblyan can inscribe a new parchment scroll. As they go along, Zeblyan finds loopholes and contradictions in the sacred verses and argues his points like an old-time Talmudic scholar.

The two men repeatedly harp on passages about sexuality (the play could benefit from cutting some of the gags about lesbians and masturbation). Their arguments, however, make a good point: that a shared heritage can be more important than the details of commandments. The two survivors learn to respect each other and find meaning in their existence in an unwelcoming land.

John Pietrowski, the artistic director of Playwrights Theatre in Madison, N.J., is mesmerizing as Zeblyan with a furrowed brow and tired eyes. Tom Teti as Ishaq acts as if he grew up Jewish, capturing the disappointments and resentments that come after years of persecution by Islamic autocrats. James Glossman directs superbly, unafraid of taking long pauses that are filled by the actors' expressive glances, grimaces and movements.

Two Jews premiered in 2009 at Florida Stage, then went on to Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey and New Jersey Repertory Company before Rozin brought it to his own company's stage in Philadelphia.