So so "...Jews"

Sometimes "bad" is a not so much a pejorative as a relative term.

Definitions of bad abound in "Bad Jews," Joshua Harmon's new play at the Roundabout's Underground Black Box Theatre at  the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre through December 30th.

Philip Ettinger as Jonah Haber, Tracee Chimo as his cousin Daphna Feygenbaum, and Molly Ranson as Melody
in "Bad Jews." Photo by Joan Marcus.

In "Bad Jews," the judge of who and what is bad is Daphna (Tracee Chimo), one of the cousins gathering in the family's Upper West Side studio after their grandfather's death.Daphna feels that her dedication to her Jewishness entitles her, of all the cousins, to inherit the Chai necklace he wore in commemoration of his survival during the  Holocaust.

Molly Ranson as Melody and Michael Zegen as Liam Haber in  "Bad Jews."  Photo by Joan Marcus.

Tracee Chimo- a weak link in Harvey, mordantly funny in Bachlorette-- is at the top of her game again in "Bad Jews." Daphna, as she plays her, finds all the soft spots and then pushes until the object of her probes is on the verge of strangling her. In   "Bad Jews," Daphna  browbeats not only her cousins, Jonah  (Philip Ettinger) and Liam Haber (Michael Zegen) but also Liam's non-Jewish girlfriend, Melody (Molly Ranson).

The weakness in "Bad Jews" is in the script, which relies too heavily on the knowing pause, and the obvious laugh-line. "Bad Jews" lacks  a substantial plot to carry it from "so so" to "ah-- very good!"

For more information on "Bad Jews," visit http://www.roundabouttheatre.org/.