By Ernest Kearney — It was the sight of torch-wielding (1) marchers parading through the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia chanting, “Jews shall not replace us,” in 2017 that inspired Moti Buchboot to tell the story of his Grandmother’s survival during the Holocaust in his one-man-cooking-puppet-Yiddish-cabaret-autobiographical-Mighty Mouse-homage-history lesson show, Five Pieces of Paper.
Buchboot is an exceedingly talented and personable presence on the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s stage during 
this year’s HFF.
And his grandmother’s Chocolate Coconut Cake which he bakes throughout his tales is tasty.
But the impact and the story he wishes to tell us is lost under the Mountain of Unnecessary:
He begins to bake, he brings over a milk cart, assembles a coat rack, dons a Tevye costume, does an Andy Kaufman bit, disassembles the coat rack, drags the milk cart a-foot, sings a Yiddish song, re-assembles the coat rack, introduces a puppet, sings another Yiddish song, dis-assembles the coat rack, introduces another puppet, treats us to a very depressing slide show—
Buchboot has taken what could have been a very moving show and turned it into a Gallagher comedy act.
Which is a pity.
Buried beneath all the “creative” clutter are the five pieces of paper, from which the show takes its name, on which his grandmother recounted the horrors of the Nazis and her time in the camps.
These five pieces of paper are the only thing that the show requires.
The cooking set is acceptable because it was while his grandmother cooked that their relationship grew and flourished.
We don’t need puppets or cheesy fake beards or milk carts.
The drama is not in the props but the story.
The power is not in the stage pieces but the performance.
Buchboot has a lovely voice, and his singing of some seldom heard Yiddish classics was a joy, but he has buried both his talents and his grandmother’s poignant tale in a tomb of the unessential.
This is a show that could have used so much more “less.”
The show was BRONZE; Buchboot’s performance was GOLD, which equals out to –
A SILVER MEDAL.
Tiki torches (1) purchased at Walmart – what a pack of wankers.
For complete Five Pieces of Paper show information go to: http://hff19.org/5869
For the total lowdown on events, plays and fun happenings during Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019 (running 06/13/19 to 06/30/19) go to: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/
