By Kristen Nevarez Schweizer
April 27, 2026
The Gen Z girlies have just discovered Nora Ephron. They’re posting on TikTok about You’ve Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally like archaeologists who’ve unearthed lost art. And, y’know what? Good for them. The 1990s were the golden era for romantic comedies. Thankfully, North Coast Repertory Theatre is delivering a show with all the ‘90s nostalgia.
Beau Jest, which opened last night and has already extended through May 22, premiered in Chicago in 1989. It was one of the most produced plays of the 1990s because the script is a masterclass in what made the era’s sitcoms sing: misunderstandings that snowball, family dinners that detonate, and winning chemistry between two likable lovers.
Sarah Goldman (sweet Katrina Michaels) is a 30-something kindergarten teacher with powder-blue walls, low heels, and a clingy boyfriend — all three, notably, are trending again. Her very Jewish parents want very Jewish grandchildren; her boyfriend is not Jewish. Sarah’s solution is genre perfection: invent a fake one. She hires a local actor, David (charming Sam Ashdown), to play the role at her family’s Shabbat dinner. What follows is exactly what one would expect, yet it also manages to surprise.
The romantic leads bring a winning, slow-burning rapport, but my favorite work in this production is from Josh Cahn as Sarah’s brother, Joel Goldman, a divorced therapist. Cahn’s magnificent back-row reactions amplified every moment. Whether serving as the show’s voice of reason or slapstick sibling banter, his deadpan delivery was the secret, satisfying ingredient to this ensemble comedy.
Playwright James Sherman’s script lands, even 37 years later, because the particular becomes the portal. While this Jewish story hits the expected notes — guilt and criticism delivered with brisket — anyone who has ever navigated a family with opinions (so, everyone) will recognize themselves in the Goldmans. Director Omri Schein builds a small miracle of ensemble dynamics. This superb cast doesn’t just work together; they combust in sync.
Maybe this is what the Gen Z girlies posting about rom-coms are seeing, what Nora Ephron understood in her best works. Delightful romantic comedies aren’t only about romance. They’re about who you’re meant to become and the people who loved you before he showed up.
In an era when #booktok romance novels are graded on their spice, Beau Jest is a warm kitchen on a Friday night. It is silly, swoony, and transportive in the way the genre is meant to be. A love story can be soft and still cut right to the heart, and this one does.
BEAU JEST by James Sherman
A BELOVED ROMANTIC COMEDY AT NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRE
Directed by Omri Schein
For complete performance schedule and ticket information, visit www.northcoastrep.org.
