But first, Kosky has to finish the performance, until July 10, of the ‘Revue’, an original creation he arrived at after not wanting his final production to be something expected, like an operetta, and after the pandemic disrupted his plans for a Stravinsky marathon. Few directors would or could conceive the result: a tribute to the Yiddish entertainment common at resorts in the Catskill Mountains in the mid-20th century.
“The list of artists that were there — it’s like a who’s who of American culture, all of them going to this Jewish utopian, kind of summer kibbutz,” Kosky said, citing the likes of Joan Rivers, Danny Kaye and Brooks. “I mean, what were the Catskills but a kibbutz without politics?”
The tempo of a playlist – with its ups, downs and sometimes silences – contains popular music, arranged and conducted by Adam Benzwi (named Adam Benski from the stage) and follies-like choreography, with an eye for physical comedy, by Otto Pichler. Company members and guest stars appear in a variety of guises, none more surprising than Dagmar Manzel in an increasingly sober turn from her riotous Cleopatra earlier last week.
Kosky – who also hosts the show through pre-recorded introductions – is committed to everything in a delicate balance between irony and camp. Both men and women sing in drag; borscht belt humor (“below the belt”) galore; and the performers take on personas on a Marvel Cinematic Universe scale. There’s the ‘mezzo from Minsk’ Sylvie Sonitzki, a boy band of Orthodox Jews, and don’t forget the temple choir. To conclude something like Verdi’s “Falstaff”, Kosky brings everyone out, a huge ensemble backed by a huge orchestra, for a spectacle that, gleefully and festively, sends the audience off with a command: “Dance!”
Kosky couldn’t have said goodbye any other way.