Based on a story by Shalom Aleichem, Hanan Peled’s Turkish Gold is loud, vulgar and aggressive. But then, it’s meant to be.
By HELEN KAYEcourtesy(photo credit: Turkish Gold 311)
Based on a story by Shalom Aleichem, Hanan Peled’s Turkish Gold is loud, vulgar and aggressive. But then, it’s meant to be. It’s a farce that puts in the stocks Israeli egotism, corruption and greed, and then pelts these unlovely attributes with overthe- top performances from accomplished actors.Shmuel Viloszny plays Hetzron mayor Menchi Levi with the broadest of strokes and milks every situation for all it’s worth, playing openly to the gallery. He’s ghastly! He’s marvelous! Either way you take him, he’s totally there, sending up to the hilt a provincial politico who saves his town and career through a scam.When Menchi’s aggressively militant “green” daughter Etti, played uni-dimensionally by Na’ama Shitrit, finds a gold coin in the local cemetery, her father sees opportunity beckon. Very soon Hetzron’s supposed hoard of buried Turkish treasure dominates the national news. Everybody gets in on the act, and wild goings-on add complications before the inevitable happy-end that includes a new baby for Menchi and his wife Batsheva, played with wonderfully straight-faced aplomb by Irit Kaplan.Neta Haker has created a brilliant set and Amir Brenner’s gaudy lighting is perfect. Go. Relax. Enjoy!!
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