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• Chicago's Goodman Theatre's production of "High Holidays" falls short of any holiday fun and laughter.

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Keith Kupferer (left) and Max Zuppa (right) in "High Holidays".

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Chicago's Goodman Theatre and its outstanding Artistic Director, University of Illinois graduate, Robert Falls, have always promoted new plays as a great regional theater should Their current production, "High Holidays", an effort at portraying Jewish life in the Chicago suburbs is not one of the Goodman's better selections. It is loud, crude, and filled with characters who are anything, but sympathetic.

It is an interesting set up. It is the fall of 1963 and just two months before the Bar Mitzvah of Billy, a 13 year old from the fictitious suburb of Iroquois, Illinois. He is anything but ready for the big day and seems to be dodging any responsibility for bringing it off. Alan Gross' script might have gone from here to create some interesting characters and situations, but, it does not happen. Gross's characters are foul-mouthed and often crude. Their exchanges do little more than enforce the worse stereotypes about American Jewish life and create a stage full of uninteresting, negative,and unfunny personalities.

Just to add to the avalanche of stereotypical situations on stage, older brother returns from college. He arrives with a beard, a guitar, an attitude, and a desire to leave college and become a folk singer. Adding to the chaos and negative chemistry of this play,he becomes the ultimate stereotype.

Director Steve Robman may have the season's most thankless job with this script, but there is some salvation here. The two parents, played by Rengin Altay and Keith Kupferer, mange to survive the most of Mr. Gross' writing and give us a few moments of credibility with their characters.

The sons — Rob, the angry college student (Ian Paul Custer) and Billy, the reluctant Bar MItzvah boy (Max Zuppa) are as uninteresting as characters get, but their successful execution on stage may be well beyond the reach of even young Gielguds or Oliviers. Mr Zuppa's speeches to the audiences and excuses to his parents come off with the sincerity of junior high students who attempt to shoomze their teachers by telling them how much they love doing their homework. Two young actors done in by bad writing.

"High Holidays" is one of those good ideas that sinks from the weight of bad writing. In the theater, that isn't just a sinking, that is death. "High Holidays' will continue until November 29 at its Owen Theatre at 170 North Dearborn in Chicago's Loop.