INTERVIEW: Jason Kravits’ advice is easy — don’t say no to John Turturro
Photo: Sabbath’s Theater stars, from left, Jason Kravits and John Turturro. Photo courtesy of Monique Carboni / Provided by Seven 17 PR with permission.
Jason Kravits, a character actor extraordinaire known for The Practice and a host of other TV shows, has returned to his roots in the theater with his latest project. He’s currently performing in the three-person play Sabbath’s Theater, now running at The Pershing Square Signature Center in a production from The New Group. Joining him in this Philip Roth adaptation is John Turturro and Elizabeth Marvel. Turturro co-wrote the play, based on Roth’s 1995 novel, with Ariel Levy, while Jo Bonney directs.
The show tells the complicated story of Mickey Sabbath (Turturro), a man full of darkness and lust, witticisms and anti-social behavior, but deep down he yearns to make a connection, whether that’s with his lover, Drenka (Marvel), or Cousin Fish (Kravits), a 100-year-old man who has no memory of their relationship. As the one-act progresses, Sabbath seems to relish the chance to shock his family and friends (and the audience) with his musings and bedroom habits. Roth’s dissection, along with this company’s interpretation, makes for a fascinating portrayal of a fractured life trying to reform into something defined and cohesive.
“John directed me about 12 years ago and has called me occasionally to be part of readings of screenplays and things like that, and then a few years ago, probably 2021, I want to say, he called me and asked me to do a reading of this piece,” Kravits said about his entry into the world of Sabbath’s Theater. “We did that [reading] out at St. Ann’s Warehouse, and then we did another one about a year later at BAM. And then they went to London and did a workshop of it that I wasn’t involved with, with Jo Bonney directing the workshop.”
Earlier this year, to celebrate Roth’s centennial, another reading was staged, this time at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey, the city where Roth grew up. Kravits was part of that evening, and now the full realization of the piece is on display at The New Group.
“When John Turturro asks you to do something, you don’t say no,” Kravits said. “He’s one of the greatest actors of our generation as far as I’m concerned. I [am] just thrilled to do a three-hander with John and Beth, such amazing company. I would show up at rehearsals, and they would be working on scenes that I wasn’t part of. Obviously there are love scenes I’m not part of in the show, and Jo would apologize for having me wait around. And I was like, ‘Are you kidding?’ This is so much fun to watch some great actors working together. It was a lot of fun.”
Before this project, Kravits had a casual knowledge of Roth’s oeuvre. He had read Portnoy’s Complaint and Goodbye, Columbus, and he was familiar with The Plot Against America. But, as far as Sabbath’s Theater, the actor had not read the material.
“I didn’t actually read the entire book until just before we started rehearsals for the show,” he said. “During the readings, I was just showing up and helping out and doing what I thought was right and getting direction from John at the time, but once I read it, the book is so epic and funny and moving that it became even more exciting to work on it.”
Kravits, who plays multiple parts in the show, added: “Norman, one of the characters I play, has a line to Mickey Sabbath at one point where he’s about to kick him out of his house, and he says, ‘You’ve let the whole creature out, haven’t you?’ And I always found that that’s the easiest line for me to say because John as an actor really indulges in the meatiness and the lustfulness and the passion and the grief of this guy and the anti-social behavior, so I love that. I work mainly with John. I’ve got one scene that Elizabeth and I share, which is just such a treat to be on stage with her. She’s so talented, but the two of them both share a playfulness within those characters that being on stage with them, it’s exciting. There’s always something new to play with, and John as an actor and as a writer and as a creative person loves to stretch the limits of what he’s doing, for his sake and for the character’s sake and for the audience. So, for me, that’s just a thrill to be part of that.”
One of the most poignant scenes in the play, which continues its extended run through Dec. 17, is when Kravits’ Cousin Fish interacts with Sabbath. Kravits said that playing this 100-year-old character has been enlightening and reminds him of his own family members.
“As Sabbath puts it, ‘The weight of life and the simplicity to bear it’ — that describes a lot of people in my grandparents’ generation especially, but also Roth himself picks out that scene and the scene with Drenka in the hospital that follows it in the play as two of his best pieces of writing,” Kravits said. “I believe he says that those two scenes he would hold those up against anything else he’s ever written, so they’re really well-crafted little playlets, in a way. So that’s lovely but also the idea of taking Sabbath, who is running away in many ways from his past and has been for decades, and putting him in a situation where he’s not only desperately trying to connect with this relative of his, but the reason behind connecting with this relative is to prove, as Sabbath says, that we were there, that it actually existed, that I had a happy childhood in this place, is very important to him. It’s really one of my favorite things to be involved in.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Sabbath’s Theater, featuring Jason Kravits, continues its extended run through Dec. 17 at The Pershing Square Signature Center in Midtown Manhattan. The production, also starring John Turturro and Elizabeth Marvel, is directed by Jo Bonney and produced by The New Group. Click here for more information and tickets.
