Early in David Ives' "Polish Joke," which just opened at Salt Lake Acting Company, young Jasiu's Uncle Roman tells him that Poland is such a nonentity that it completely vanished for more than 100 years "like Brigadoon without the music."
Later in the play, Jasiu encounters Tadeusz Kosciuszko, the heroic Pole who helped America win the Revolutionary War, who tells him that Poland actually disappeared because it was such a wonderful place that all the countries in Europe wanted to own a piece of it.
Whichever version of the story you choose to believe can shape the way you feel about being Polish. Ives is playfully pointing out that ethnicity is as much about our perceptions and others' stereotypical notions as it is about the actual traditions and customs that make it up.
"Polish Joke" seamlessly weds Ives' rapid-fire and irreverent wit with some deeper questions about what constitutes ethnic identity. Can individuals escape their ethnic heritage? Should they even try? What would make them want to do it?
SLAC's highly enjoyable production explores all these questions without ever missing a beat.
After Uncle Roman tells Jasiu that "all Polish jokes are true" and advises him to "impersonate someone who's not Polish," Jasiu sets out to remake his life. He changes his name, applies for a high-profile WASP job, falls in love with a Jewish girl, and finally decides he would like to be Irish since the happy-go-lucky Irish are the polar opposite of gloomy, fatalistic Poles. But when his flight to Ireland is diverted to Warsaw, Jasiu must confront whether he is running toward something or away from it, like the Polack in the joke who gets hit by the bus he is frantically trying to catch.
Michael Todd Behrens plays the hapless Jasiu with a delightful mix of earnestness, bewilderment, determination, and frustration. Four actors -- Daisy Blake, Kevin Doyle, Morgan Lund and Arika Schockmel -- portray all the other characters in his life with such an array of personalities and accents that you are never sure who is going to pop up next, from Lund as earthy Uncle Roman to Doyle as an outrageous Irish travel agent, Schockmel as a philosophical Polish airline agent, and Blake as a high-powered, quirky personnel manager.
Kirstie Gulick Rosenfield's direction is insightful and perfectly paced, giving you time to savor both jokes and
subtleties without becoming heavy handed. Keven Myhre's simple, flexible set allows pieces to be added or removed quickly to create entirely new environments, and watching the actors do scene changes adds a hilarious footnote to the show. Brenda Van der Weil's colorful ethnic, often elegant costumes are set off by Jeff Sturgis' bright, sometimes surreal lighting.
"Polish Joke" shows off what SLAC does best: entertaining audiences while offering them something to think about in the process.
'Polish Joke'
"Polish Joke" plays at The Salt Lake Acting Company, 168 W. 500 North in Salt Lake City, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 and 7 p.m. through Feb. 27. It contains adult themes and language.
Tickets are $27.50 to $33.50; students are $13 with valid ID, and there is a new special ticket price of $18 for patrons 30 and under. Call 363-SLAC or 355-ARTS.
