After her off-Broadway triumph, talented Monica Piper returns to Santa Monica with her hit solo performance, NOT THAT JEWISH. This is a hilarious peek at one very funny lady as she is growing up and older. Yes, Monica Piper is Jewish – well, according to her, sort of. Can you be Jewish if you don’t go to the temple every holiday? Or celebrate each Friday with more ceremony than chopped liver? Monica – who, by the way, lifted her first name from a certain sign over a certain pier a few miles from the theater and her last name by adding a “p” In “pier” – chronicles her merry adventures and misadventures within her warm, loving, and “not that Jewish” family.
Monica Piper – Photo by David Chiu
Monica didn’t just stumble upon her comedic talent willy-nilly. It evolved from the closest of genetic underpinnings possible – her father. A man who never let anything get him down and started off life as a comedian himself. A man who knew how to make the tastiest lemonade, even from dried-out citrus. Meanwhile, her mother played straight man with a wry humor that might escape notice if one wasn’t paying attention.
Monica has slain many a career dragon – beginning her professional life as an English teacher bitten by the performance bug when her marriage – of course, to a non-Jew – failed. She takes us through many a hilarious high point in her life, including her days at the Comedy Store hobnobbing with the crème-de-la-crème of young comics to her gig as Emmy award-winning head writer for the popular television show Mugrats – and finally to a compilation of everything she knows is important in NOT THAT JEWISH, a show which she wrote and stars in.
Monica Piper – Photo by David Chiu
Directed by Eve Brandstein and produced by The Braid founder Ronda Spinak, NOT THAT JEWISH hits every trope about being Jewish – and makes chopped liver of them all. Marilee Towlin’s set is a cozy, comfy living room – just right to weave a tale that will make you laugh (and sometimes cry) with authenticity and warmth. With music composed and performed by Ross Levinson and technical direction and stage management by MJ Adamson, the stage grows before your eyes. It’s no small wonder that NOT THAT JEWISH received multiple sterling reviews and well-deserved awards on both coasts. This is a delightful, completely charming look at a woman with the comic skills, timing, and creativity to tickle every funny bone. While her words are hilarious, her pauses are often even funnier. Get ready to chuckle, chortle, and outright guffaw as Monica lets you into her world, a world that’s NOT THAT JEWISH, a truly brilliant artistic choice for the grand opening of the Braid’s new home.
NOT THAT JEWISH runs through end end of December 2024, with performances at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. The Braid has a brand new location at 3435 Ocean Park Blvd., Suite 105, Santa Monica, CA 90405. Lots of street parking is available. For information and reservations, call 310-315-1400 or go online.
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