Two guys whose careers are based entirely around the neuroses of Jewish families are about to hit it big. Sam Wolfson and Bryan Fogel, creators and stars of the off-Broadway hit Jewtopia are back on stages around North America, just before their creation heads to the silver screen.
Their latest venture is a combination of standup humor and a scene from their play mixed in with a multimedia presentation, kind of, says Wolfson, like Al Gore. This speaking tour is keeping them busy until they start filming what they hope to be a Hollywood blockbuster, which is loosely based on the stage production of Jewtopia.
The play is about Chris O’Connell, a non-Jewish man looking to marry a Jewish woman so he never, ever has to make a decision again in his life. He meets up with his old friend Adam Lipschitz, who guides him in his quest.
Jewtopia opened in Los Angeles in 2003, and then moved to New York, where it became an off-Broadway hit. While the show recently closed in New York, it will be opening up in Toronto, Tampa and Rochester, and, on Sept. 16, in Seattle. Fogel and Wolfson will be performing “World of Jewtopia” at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s community campaign kickoff event at Benaroya Hall.
In the play, Wolfson plays the character Chris. I asked Fogel if Chris is a reflection of his own personality. He immediately burst out laughing.
“Sam and I very different from the characters we play,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I’m the one who needs to make all the decisions. I don’t like other people deciding for me.”
Perhaps not wanting other people to decide their fate is what propelled the duo to take their careers into their own hands. After each struggled for years in horrible Hollywood jobs, they were introduced to each other by a mutual friend because they were the only two Jews he had ever met. They decided to work together and created Jewtopia. Not only did they write, produce, and act in the show, they initially did all the marketing and even sold tickets.
Their philosophy of hard work is no laughing matter — it’s how these two small-time stand-up comedians came to be so successful.
“Bryan and I put the show’s expenses on our credit cards,” Wolfson said. “Altogether we spent 80 grand. Our parents each chipped in thousands of dollars. We wrote the play to get noticed — we were both struggling at that point in our careers.”
Their wishes came true and the “Jewtopia” concept expanded into a book where their independent streak became even more apparent.
“Warner Brother books gave us an advance to create a book,” Wolfson explained. “We did not just want to do a book, we wanted pictures and drawings. So we put an ad on Craigslist, hired 15 people that worked out of our apartments, and spent the entire advance money on creating the book. Our agent thought we were out of our minds and told us that if Warner did not like the book, we would have to return all the money. But we were determined and wanted it to be great.”
The book Jewtopia, which pokes fun at Jewish stereotypes such as overprotective parents and obsessive cleanliness, has sold more than 40,000 copies. While they mock Jewish mothers, Wolfson and Fogel know it’s always important to use the big guns when it comes to promoting their work. Joking aside, who could give them a greater endorsement then, well, you guessed it — their mothers?
“We put our mothers’ phone numbers on the back of the book, so they could help with publicity,” Wolfson said.
“It is not beneath us to pawn our goods,” Fogel said. “One day we were on the Upper East Side of NYC in a Barnes and Noble. Our books were out in front, so we started signing them. Since we had our “˜Jewdar’ on, we pounced on anyone we knew was Jewish — to buy our book and have us sign it for them.”
They moved back to California after having a ball in the Big Apple, and now both live in Malibu, a few miles away from one another. They were amused when this reporter asked if they lived a Hollywood lifestyle.
“Actually our lives are pretty mellow,” said Fogel.
Wolfson surfs and Fogel, an avid skier and cyclist, bikes a few hundred miles a week. At the moment the two are working feverishly on their movie, which is scheduled to start filming in mid-October.
“It’s going to be a crazy, fun, wild, hysterical movie,” Wolfson said.
If their chutzpah and past performances are an indication of what is to come, it’s best to catch them while you can. No doubt a live preview of actors soon to be on the big screen just might be the hottest ticket in town.”
Ready to make it big
