Can I Really Date a Guy Who Wears a Yarmulke?

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This is the 11th Season of the Midtown International Theatre Festival, which chooses and encourages theatre of all racial and sexual stripes; plays and musicals of all genres focused on an ethnic or cultural niche. The festival is the brainchild of John Chatterton, publisher and editor of OOBR (the off-off-broadway review). While the word "eclectic" has bad connotations in the academic world, it describes the artistic thrust.

One of the first presentations was Yarmulke, at the Beckett Theatre, written by Amy Holson-Schwartz. It tells the story of Eleanor (Catherine LeFrere), a bright woman on the verge of getting a PhD. and conflicted young woman of Jewish heritage, recently returned from a free trip to Israel as part of a timeshare presentation. She would like to consider herself an atheist. Then there's Aaron (Jason Liebman), the observant Jewish doctor who is not only good-looking, but cooks. He throws her identity crisis into a spin, when their mutual friends Lila (Jessica Smolins) and Will (Ryan Wood) set them up on a blind date. Can Eleanor, who thinks she functions in a purely secular world, and Aaron whose beliefs may be more hypocritical that he would like to acknowledge, allow their love to blossom as they embark upon a romantic path? Serious questions of religious belief, who we perceive we are, and reality are brought into question as this quick-paced, romantic comedy unfolds. The play is ably directed by Jay Falzone and features Smolins and Wood in multi roles, along with cast members David Licht and Bonnie Corso. The cast is solid in their performances.