Wait, there’s another Jewish musical besides FIDDLER ON THE ROOF?! Courtesy of Netflix.Ah, to be a kid again. To be a kid and get to just break out into song and dance any time you want… Just kidding, although I have always wished magic was real and we could do this any time we’d like, just push everything out of our way and sing a song if we’re feeling excited, exasperated, heartbroken, etc. Netflix’s 13: THE MUSICAL is the antidote for anyone who misses their childhood, particularly anyone who did musical theater during their child years…and particularly anyone who is Jewish and did musical theater during their child years.
Oh yes, I may not have been raised Jewish, but I was obsessed with musical theater as a child, except for the the time my teacher cast me as a Nazi in The Sound of Music during my freshman year…and then I got a fever during opening night. Anyway, 13: THE MUSICAL is luckily Nazi-free, and it’s quite possibly the most gleeful, kid-friendly movie musical ever made, even more kid-friendly than High School Musical. I couldn’t comprehend the moral of the story or even why it was made in the first place except to put a smile on our faces, which it does. If you want an enjoyably frivolous, Jewish movie musical where children dance and sing, you got it!
So, I’m quite late to the game because 13: THE MUSICAL actually debuted on Netflix this past August. I was out of the country at the time, and then, well, I honestly forgot about the movie because August through November was all about preparing for the Jewish film festival. I shocked myself by having never even known that 13: THE MUSICAL was a short but big hit on Broadway. Say what?! There’s another famous Jewish musical besides Fiddler on the Roof? Jason Robert Brown’s coming-of-age kids show debuted in 2008, and although it only ran for a couple of months, it made an impact. To this day, schools have been putting on the musical. Another fun fact: before she was a superstar, Ariana Grande was in the original Broadway production.
I did a little research, and Tamra Davis’s adaptation is apparently very different from the show. From what I’ve read, the movie is a lot more G-rated. Slate called the original show “one of the most hardcore musicals that has ever graced Broadway,” and the movie a “Disneyfied romp.” Ouch. Well, I haven’t seen the original production, and so I can’t compare and contrast. I do love a good school-set musical. (An underrated extravaganza: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Watch it. Now streaming on Amazon Prime.) You may have also seen that Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical is coming to Netflix this month. 13: THE MUSICAL is different in that the classmates and practically all characters don’t have a mean bone in their bodies, plus there’s no evil principal swinging girls by their hair. There is nothing remotely “gritty” or intense. Is this a realistic depiction of a Jewish boy attending a very not Jewish school in Indiana in modern-day America? Absolutely not, but then again, kids don’t break out into song and dance either.
I’m getting ahead of myself. 13: THE MUSICAL revolves around – you guessed it – an upcoming bar mitzvah. 12-year-old Evan (Eli Golden) is a New York City pre-teen preparing for his entrance to adulthood under the teaching of Rabbi Shapiro (Josh Peck). Evan’s parents are getting divorced, and so he and his mother (Debra Messing) have to move to the small town of Walkerton, Indiana to live with his grandmother (Rhea Perlman). The town, as you guessed it, is the least Jewish town in all of America.
“Is there a temple?” Evan asks his grandmother.
“There is,” she says. “It’s called a church.”
Evan is a convivial, smiley boy who miraculously fits in with the popular crowd at his school, like literally on the first day. There’s no trepidation for him to just approach a crowd of kids and introduce himself, unlike his childhood friend, Patrice (Gabriella Uhl), who avoids anyone on the football or cheerleading team. I’m not sure why the kids take such an instant liking to Evan. I’m assuming it’s because he’s Jewish, a religion they know nothing about, and so they’re just really fascinated.
“What’s a bar mitzvah?” someone asks in the cafeteria.
“It’s this Jewish thing where they make you talk backwards, and everyone gets circumcised!”
Now, of course, this is middle school, and so romantic/dramatic puppy love is required. Kendra (Lindsey Blackwell) and Brett (JD McCrary), two popular kids, like each other, but don’t know when or how they can have their first kiss. Lucy (Frankie McNellis), Kendra’s best friend, secretly has a crush on Kendra. Archie (Jonathan Lengel), Patrice’s friend, secretly likes Kendra. Keeping up?
Evan isn’t seeking anyone, which surprised me because I expected the protagonist to become romantically involved. In fact, all he wants is for the kids to attend his bar mitzvah. To become one with the popular kids, he devises a plan for Kendra and Brett to kiss by sneaking into a scary, R-rated movie. However, when Lucy finds out his goal, she vows to tell everyone not to attend his bar mitzvah if Kendra and Brett kiss because she wants him for herself. Uh oh. Melodrama! You see, at the beginning of this post, I was reminiscing about my love of my childhood. After writing this paragraph, I’m second-guessing myself! Who else remembers seeing the cool kids hold hands and hearing about the positively “crazy” relationship drama amongst classmates and absolutely cringing because it was so dumb?
Like I said, though, if you’re a parent reading this review, don’t fret. 13: THE MUSICAL is below a G-rated movie. Evan doesn’t encounter bullying or any remote form of antisemitism at school. There is the traditional mother-son moment halfway through the film, as well as encouraging words of wisdom spoken by Evan’s father (Peter Hermann). As Rabbi Shapiro, Peck is having a fun time, as well as Messing and Perlman. I think you should know by now that 13: THE MUSICAL is very Jewish, so Jewish that there is a moment where Messing’s character is handed a poppyseed bagel and smells it intensely. I also couldn’t tell if it was meant to be a joke when Rabbi Shapiro high-fives Evan and loudly enunciates “high” five. High-five like “chai” five? Or am I overthinking this?
This Netflix musical is histrionic from beginning to end, and I didn’t care one bit. Fans of the original production may have their qualms, but they’re not writing this review. This is just a fun movie with some killer dance moves, cute kids, and – what I particularly liked – a lot of ethnic diversity in its casting. I enjoyed every whimsical moment and suspended any disbelief. There is a music sequence, for example, in the cafeteria that is entirely devoid of teachers or staff. In fact, I don’t recall seeing any teachers at all in the movie. Perhaps this is intentional, and the lack of staff is meant to signify a missing part of Evan’s soul! Ahh! No, no. It’s just a kids movie, and whether you’re Jewish or not, it will put you in a happy mood.
13: THE MUSICAL is now available to stream on Netflix.