My precious

A Golem has invaded the River Stage theater, and is creating havoc along the way. Or is havoc creating the Golem? Confused? Well, that’s just one of the many mysteries presented in River Stage’s world premiere of playwright Mark Stein’s Acts Unbecoming a Golem, a quirky comedy that takes a standup comic and transforms him into a mystical creature from Jewish folklore.

The Golem legends trace back to 16th century, where stories tell about a half-man, half-creature who either helps or hinders its creator—a human who molds a clay figure and breathes life into his creation, but also unleashes its uncertain powers. Though there’s little consistency to the exact characteristics of a Golem in the various versions, the common thread is that when you start down that dangerous path of Golem-making, trouble is sure to follow.

River Stage artistic director Frank Condon mused about a Golem play for years before handing over the idea to playwright Mark Stein who molded the ideas into Acts Unbecoming a Golem, and handed it back to director Condon to breathe life into the creation. The result is a play that’s fascinating, thought provoking, wildly esoteric and at times way too abstruse, that leaves you with more questions than answers. That’s not really a bad thing—just think of it as philosophical conversation fodder.

Stein, an East Coast playwright and screenwriter who has become a River Stage resident playwright, has partnered with Condon on two plays that have world-premiered at the theater—Ghost Dance about Native Indians and Scottsboro Boys that examined the trial of wrongly accused African-American boys. In Golem, he again tackles heavy subject matters, but brushes them with a lighter coat of comedy.

Golem starts off with a stage empty except for a large pile of clothes in the middle that suddenly moves and talks as an aspiring comic emerges from beneath with a microphone in hand. The comedian David (Gabriel Montoya) begins a “ladies and germs” monologue about how he has just met a mesmerizing Jewish woman at a party, and how it’s brought up questions about his own Jewish faith and commitment.

Before you can say “gefilte fish,” David is mysteriously transported back into time as a Golem by a 17th-century Polish rabbi. Because Golems can’t speak, David is stripped of his power to speak and communicate with the townspeople—quite an adjustment for a stand-up comic. He can talk to the audience, to whom he gives a running commentary of his anxiety and confusion of strange occurrences, including a possible pogrom. He brings modern sensibilities along with him—“Is that Freudian, or did Freudian things even exist before Freud?”—along with the horrible knowledge of Jewish history to come.

Montoya conveys just the right mix of bewilderment and confusion infused with sardonic humor as the comic/cosmic time traveler David, and the supporting cast who play multiple characters provide equally memorable performances: Andrew Hutchinson as the Rabbi/townsman, David Campfield and Kristine David as young lovers, Stephen Kesich as the lost boy, Michael Beckett as the Blacksmith and Michael Yeager as a ruffian.

Though in places Golem still has a work-in-progress feel to it, it’s a fascinating journey nonetheless, one that leads to questions without answers, and answers that can be as unsettling as an out-of-control Golem.