Review: New Jewish Theatre's TWO JEWS WALK INTO A WAR… is Wryly Amusing

Ishaq and Zeblyan are the remaining surviving Jews in war torn Afghanistan. The synagogue elder has just passed. The only copy of The Torah has been destroyed. Both men agree they must rebuild the entire Jewish community in Kabul, but that is the only thing they agree on. Ishaq and Zeblan despise and hold deep-seeded hatred for each other.  

Seth Rozin’s dryly comedic Two Jews Walk into a War... is the current offering at New Jewish Theatre. The bicker fest is 90-minutes of drollery while Ishaq and Zeblyan are attempting to rewrite the Torah from memory. Ishaq dictates. Zeblyan scribes. The men argue and challenge the other’s beliefs about God’s law and the explicit versus implied meaning of scripture.  

Rozin’s script is an homage to the bickering buddy comedies that have come before. Ishaq and Zeblyan are reminiscent of Felix and Oscar in Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, and Elder Price and Elder Cunningham in Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s The Book of Mormon. Like the two missionaries in Momon, one of Rozin’s characters (Ishaq) is a devout traditionalist, while the other (Zeblyan) has a more progressive interpretation of the Torah. 

Director Aaron Sparks stages an offbeat and amusing production of Two Jews Walk into a War.... His subtle directorial hand elicits measured consistency in character. Ishaq, the straight man delivers verbal and non-verbal barbs, while the comedically louder Zeblyan reacts to Ishaq’s provocation. Sparks mines subtle laughs from Rozin’s satirical script while keeping a respectful and reverential tone toward faith, loss of community, and the war-torn environment of Afghanistan.  

Gary Glasgow (Ishaq) is the Abbot to Chuck Winning’s (Zeblyan) Costello. Glasgow’s needling is wry and sarcastic. He rarely raises his voice. Winning reacts with more overt but still restrained emotion. Winning intelligently stays just shy of going full tilt. The men provoke each other with antagonistic flair. Glasgow’s Ishaq snipes and Winning’s Zeblyan retorts dropping bombs that challenge Ishaq’s deeply held traditional view of scripture.  

Glasgow and Winning have a heavy lift. They shoulder 90-minutes of uninterrupted quarreling. Their back-and-forth banter is like a championship match on center court at Wimbledon. The two actors have perfected the timing of the verbal joust with most scenes ending on a humoristic high note. Glasgow and Winning deliver Rozin’s wordy script with emotive precision, however there were a handful of occasions on opening night when both tripped over a few lines. That is uncharacteristic of these two skilled and experienced professionals.  

Lily Tomasic’s immersive synagogue interior set design is a masterpiece in detail. The exposed walls opening the synagogue to the audience are complete with three corners suspended from the ceiling with exposed rugged torn away concrete. The sanctuary walls are adorned with scriptural or Yahrzeit Plaques flanked by wall sconces. It’s worth the time to study fine points of Tomasic’s set. It is impeccably designed, artfully constructed, beautifully painted by Cameron Tesson, and warmly illuminated by Michael Sullivan’s lighting design.  

Props supervisor Katie Orr is responsible for one of the biggest laughs of the show with a few dozen not-so-carefully strewn props. It is a sight gag that grows with the narrative and will not be discussed further to avoid a spoiler. She and Sparks collaborated to add much visual humor.  

Kareem Deanes sound design is a reminder that the area surrounding the synagogue is under constant attack. The sound effects punctuated the dialogue and added to the humor. It was not obvious if the actors were wearing microphones, but the actors projected with clear and audible dialogue.  

Michelle Freidman Siler’s traditional costumes add to the authenticity of storytelling. Siler leadership always results in costumes that are thoughtful, well designed, and professionally constructed.  

Two Jews Walk into a War... is not slapstick or laugh out loud funny. It is more wryly amusing. The humor is abundant. Laughs come from Seth Rozin’s quippy script, Aaron Sparks’ crisp direction and sharp timing, and Gary Glasgow and Chuck Winning’s playful sparring. But Rozin, Sparks, and the actors take the audience beyond the laughs and comedy, leaving them with more.  Two Jews Walk into a War... provokes a quieted introspection about faith, ethics, beliefs, responsibility, and the relationships among the members of a community and religious congregation.  

The New Jewish Theatre’s production of Two Jews Walk into a War... continues at the Wool Studio Theater on The Jewish Community Center Campus through Sunday, August 10, 2025. Click the link below to purchase tickets.