Interview: Eli Leonard Explores Jewish Stereotypes in GOOD SHOWBIZ at SoHo Playhouse

The New York premiere of Good Showbiz, written by Eli Leonard, who’s appeared in shows like “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, and WGA Award nominee Theodore Bressman (Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” & “Miracle Workers,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm”), and directed by Bressman, runs August 12-20 at SoHo Playhouse. Leonard stars in the show, described as “The King of Comedy meets Fiddler on the Roof.” As the legendary and magical Showbiz host, Sandy Synagoguenstein, Leonard takes his crowd through space and time to explore Jewish comedy and theater throughout the ages in a fearless and provocative piece of experimental, clown comedy. Together they will laugh at the Jewish stereotype and earn money along the way, because “Good Showbiz is a show. But it’s also a business.”

Read a conversation below with Leonard about the new show.

Where did the idea for Good Showbiz come from?

I feel I’ve got quite a bit of power to answer a question like this. I could make up some great lore about this show, how “oh, it started in a fever dream and I had to write it all in one night,” or something inspired like that, but the idea for Good Showbiz came out of my own boredom - I was bored performing just 10 minutes at a time, I was bored of the format and cadence of the one-person show - where it’s all so personal and histrionic and, often times, embellished to make the performer look better as a person outside of the theater. Or with shows that ask so much of the audience - there is a desperation for audience interaction at certain clown shows that puts the onus on the audience to do the work to make the show work, and I wanted to make it more comfortable for the audience to participate, so I decided I would incentivize it and offer real money in exchange for their participation aka, a “job,” in Good Showbiz. Seemed fair. I was also bored of seeing the same representation and tropes of Jews and Jewish characters in the culture at large. I thought, if I don’t like the way we’re being put out there, why don’t I do something about it? So I made a show I would want to see about my people.

How did you craft the character you play in this show?

In the years and years I’ve trained in physical theater and clown work, my mentors like John Gilkey, Amrita Dhaliwal, and Aitor Basauri have put an emphasis on the audience seeing us for the mask we are wearing. My face is my mask, and my mask could not possibly be any more Jewy. And so the character, Sandy Synagogenstein, has emerged to confront what the audience inevitably will see when they see my face. I get to play this harmful representation of a Jewish person so freely and joyfully that I take the power of the stereotype back into my own hands. I thought about what a modern minstrel show would look like in Jewface…

What draws you to studying (and parodying) Jewish comedy and theater?

Jewish comedy and theater has always resonated with me pretty deeply. It’s what I grew up on. Where I am from in Minnesota, there is a pretty strong Jewish community, but the culture at large is not particularly infused with it, so I would watch these Mel Brooks movies and Coen Brothers movies and all the sitcoms and, yes, the Holocaust documentaries, and I’d get a feel for who I was outside of my immediate community. And I have parodied it because that is what I saw all the greats do. And I want to be one of them. So I do it.

Who do you think would enjoy seeing this show?

Of course, I think everybody in the world would like Good Showbiz.

Aside from preparing for this show, what else have you been filling your time with lately?

I have been spending a lot of time with people I love. I have poured my heart into the show and a lot of work and time, so spending these weeks leading up to it with my people has been nourishing my spirit. Other than that, lately, nothing. Performing is my life. It’s kind of sad actually. I should pick up a hobby. Eh, maybe cooking. I have been cooking. I’m a pretty good cook. I’m no chef, but saying I’m a good cook is no stretch.

Do you have any other upcoming projects you're working on that you'd like to share with us?

I always have something on the horizon, but whether or not anyone will see it is something else entirely. I am set to play lead in a feature-length film directed by Sophia Sabella and Pablo Feldman shooting later this year. I also have an amalgam of scripts I’ll feed words into, and I get up on stage wherever and whenever I can.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

This show has been brought to life by some incredible people. My director, Theodore Bressman, has shaped my show into something worthy of an audience. My stage wife, Sarah Shtern, is a crucial and dedicated presence to the work and I know audiences will love her. She will be the first person to tell you she is looking for representation, so if you are a rep reading this, come see for yourself. My band, GOOF, is flying out from LA to be a part of the show and they bring the heat every show. The great folks at The Elysian Theater have let me create this thing on my own timeline on their stage, and I am grateful for them. And my family. I love my family. Do you know them? My parents Todd and Beth, plus my blood brothers and sisters-in-law Danny and Ariel, and Zack and Nikki Leonard? They’re good.

Follow Eli Leonard on Instagram at @self_eli