Polish Joke by David Ives

Directed by Steve Hoffman

July 11 - July 26, 2008
Friday & Saturday nights at 8 PM
All tickets $8
Visit www.CVLT.org
Call 440-247-8955 (Mon-Sat, 1-6 PM)

"Polacks are the punch line of Western Civilization," or so young Jasiu Sadlowski is told by his Uncle Roman as a boy. It is this bent perspective that launches him into a lifetime of trying to deny his Polish roots. His increasingly desperate and absurd attempts to hide his heritage are the basis for David Ives' surreal comedy Polish Joke, which opens July 11th at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre's River Street Playhouse.

David Ives is best known for his hit one-act comedies such as All In The Timing and Phillip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread, as well as his multi-award-winning Don Juan in Chicago. Through the semi-autobiographical Polish Joke, he examines cultural bias and the human condition as our hero reinvents himself in a number of ways. Young Jasiu (Justin Brenis) finds it comically difficult to navigate job interviews, the priesthood, relationships, shopping, travel... every aspect of his American life. The nearly twenty characters who surround him through his heartbreaking and zany encounters are played by just six other actors (Ken Allan, Mike Green, Taylor Hess, Amy Pelleg, Elaine Sonnie and Bobby Thomas). As the ghosts of his true heritage confront him at every turn, he learns what it really means to be 'a Pole'.

Polish Joke raised more than a few angry eyebrows within the Polish-American community and beyond when it premiered in 2003. Ives' use of Polish, Irish and Jewish stereotypes in a harsh (and furiously funny) light is rarely seen in today's climate of extreme political correctness. Director Steven Hoffman explains that the underlying motive of Polish Joke is not just to lampoon prejudice, but to emphasize that "it is self-defeating for an individual to use these stereotypes as an excuse for not making something of his or her self." He goes on to note that "individual choice is what largely determines a person’s destiny. American values are built on this cornerstone."

Polish Joke runs Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 PM from July 11 - July 26 at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre's River Street Playhouse, a 'blackbox' style venue for new and edgy material, located next to the main CVLT building. Tickets are $8 for all seats. Tickets for CVLT shows and events can be purchased online at www.CVLT.org, or by calling the Box Office at 440-247-8955 between 1 and 6 PM, Monday through Saturday. CVLT's River Street Playhouse is located at 56 River Street in historic Chagrin Falls Village.