Think of Woody Allen and you think of New York City, but this weekend he’s right here in Evanston — in spirit anyway.
The Jewish Theatre Ensemble’s production of “Play It Again, Sam” opens today and runs through Saturday at the Shanley Pavilion. The stage play written by Allen originally appeared on Broadway in 1969 and was produced by David Merrick, but became famous when the film version came out in 1972.
The show about love and loss is set in the sunny San Francisco but is surprisingly compatible with the dark, intimate space of the Pavilion. In fact, “Play It Again, Sam” was the only show director Marco Naggar considered when he petitioned to direct a JTE show.
“I love everything about it,” said Naggar, a Communication junior. But it was important to Naggar to differentiate JTE’s production from the movie.
“If we tried to make it Woody Allen-y, we’d have a 99.9 percent chance of failing,” he said.
It helps that Naggar and assistant director Sam Long, a Communication junior, have never even watched Allen’s 1972 film. “We’re very open to trying new things,” Long said. “Marco had a very specific vision for the play, but this has definitely been a group process with everybody sharing their ideas.”
Communication senior Chris Bruss plays the show’s romantically frustrated main character, Allan Felix, who was portrayed by Allen in the film. “I’m a Woody Allen fan and I saw signs [for the show] and auditioned even though I haven’t performed live in a while,” Bruss said. “The show was written in the ’70s, so I had to look up some of the jokes. Some of them didn’t work, so we sat down with Marco to rework the jokes to make them more timely.”
Forty people auditioned for the show’s 11 roles in early June. Actors are not required to have previous involvement with JTE, and not all are Jewish.
“There are people of all different levels of experience, so you can learn from your cast members,” said Communication junior Ann Korajczyk, who portrays Dream Sharon and Barbara in her first non-Shakespeare role. “And the themes of the show are pertinent to college student. It’s really easy to relate to.”
The show centers around New York film critic Allan (Bruss) who recently split with his wife, Nancy. The movie “Casablanca” becomes a source of solace for the deeply depressed Allan and he begins to have imaginary conversations with Humphrey Bogart.
Making an appearance in the form of Allan’s imaginary confidante, Max Friend (Bogart) says he enjoyed exploring older cinema to play the legend. “With his subtlety and his presence, I need to be meticulous,” Friend said. “It’s a huge responsibility.”
Communication sophomore Lucy Carapetyan plays Allan’s friend Linda Christie, who worries about his odd behavior and pushes him to move on and find someone new. Carapetyan describes her character — who was played by Diane Keaton in the film — as “quite literally neurotic.” Although Linda is married, Allan soon falls in love with her. “I like the melodrama and the dream scenes,” Carapetyan said. “I can break all the boundaries of theater.”
Allan’s romance with Linda starts to get serious and he has a decision to make — steal his good friend’s wife or sacrifice his love and happiness to save his friends’ marriage.
JTE technical director Noah Levin said that the show would be desirable for a light-hearted evening. “It’s witty and comedic,” said Levin, a Communication sophomore. “It has the perfect personality for this campus.”
