Plot - Handle with Care
Handle with Care is the story of an Israeli woman who is found in a Virginia’s motel room amidst snow storm on a Christmas Eve. She had come to the US with her grandmother, who died earlier in the morning. Keeping up with her Jewish traditions, she calls the DHX shipping company to ship her grandmother’s dead body back to Israel for a quick burial. The delivery man, who was to deliver her body leaves the keys inside the truck ignition and soon in the storm the truck and the body are lost. He, along with his Jewish friend whom he calls on to help him in the time of crises try to communicate with the Jewish girl who knows a little next to no English. The circumstances become hilariously confusing when these two young people get together, one who knows nothing of English and the other who knows nothing about romance. In brief, Handle with Care is a story of a foreign land, in which two Jewish travelers looking for love wander astray, as one of them finally finds it, but accidently.
Handle with Care at Westside Theatre
This new production of Handle with Care, written by the Emmy Award nominated writer Jason Odell Williams and directed by Karen Carpenter was previously staged at the venue during the holiday season. It has been taken to several cities across the country and during the holiday season had become a sort of a tradition, being attended by families and friends. Odell successfully brings together a mixed sitcom farce and cross culture romance in this successful production. Carol Lawrence, the West Side Story star plays the part of Edna. She has earned fame for her numerous Broadway ventures, which include The Sound of Music and Sweet Charity. Charlotte Cohn plays the part of the beautiful foreigner, Ayelet. Cohn is the award winning actress whose acting career includes role in the famous La Boheme. Sheffield Chastain takes up the role of Terrance, the delivery man, while Jonathan Sale plays Josh.
The production is going to be staged at Westside Theatre, located on West 43rd Street, Hell’s Kitchen. The venue includes two auditoriums called Upstairs Theatre, with 299 seats and Downstairs Theatre, with a seating capacity of about 249. In the past, the venue was known as Chelsea Theatre Center. The building was constructed in 1890 and is of Romanesque revival style. It was turned into a theatre in 1976 and before that served as a home to many nightclubs. It was originally constructed for Second German Baptist Church. Today, it is home to a number of Off-Broadway plays.
Handle with Care and Jason Odell Williams
Jason Odell Williams, the playwright was nominated for an Emmy Award. His plays have been staged at Gulfshore Playhouse, Kitchen Theatre Company, Theatre Jacksonville and many more. Apart from that, his works have also been developed specially for Primary Stages, Hudson Valley Writers Workshop and The Lark. Jason also happens to be one of the writers as well as the producers for the TV series titled “Brain Games”. He is also the writer of the novel, Personal Statement, which was published in 2013. Handle with Care is considered as one of his best comic plays.