moni ovadia - La ballata di fine millennio (1996)

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La ballata di fine millennio - Rassegna stampa

Il diavolo in sinagoga
di Osvaldo Guerrieri
La Stampa - 2 marzo 1996

Il nuovo fenomeno del teatro italiano strega il pubblico parlando di ebrei...

(leggi jpg allegato)

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La ballata di fine millennio - Rassegna stampa

Il cabaret delle utopie infrante - (The cabaret of broken utopias)

by Ugo Volli

La Repubblica - 21 February, 1996

We are only a thousand days away from the new millennium and the old one is in agony. Of course, this is just arbitrary data, based on a conventional numerical system...

Il diavolo in sinagoga - (The devil in the synagogue)

by Osvaldo Guerrieri

La stampa - 2 March, 1996

For Moni Ovadia, the most extraordinary theatrical phenomenon of these years, being Jewish is an art...

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La ballata di fine millennio - Text fragments

(...)

Well, well!

Indeed, that of money is the greatest of enigmas!

Why is it we all stop to consider only money's accessory qualities, such as quantity and possession, when the true and profound secret of money consists in its kinetic capacities, in the art of movement?

Now, Yankele buys a painting which he likes a lot. He hangs it in his living room and contemplates it together with his wife, who is as much in love with the magnificent object as he is. A few days later, his freind Moishele comes to visit, sees the painting and says:

(heavy Yiddish accent) "Oy, oy, Yankele, what a beautiful painting you've got. Sell it to me!"

"Are you crazy, Moishele? I payed 200 dollars for this painting!"

"What's the problem, my friend? I'll give you 250."

"Ah! Well! As we say, business is business, take the painting."

Yanlele's wife returns home:

"Where's that lovely painting I loved so much?"

"Darling, you know...Moishele came to visit and offered me an extra 50 dollars for it. So I sold it to him and a very good deal it was!"

"An idiot, that's what you are! If he gave you an extra 50 dollars who knows how much it's really worth? Run, go buy it back from him!"

Yankele rushes over to Moishele and says to him:

"Moishele, you know what women are like, nu? My wife was giving me a headache, she really liked the painting, I want it back."

"What do you mean «I want it backl» Yankele? I gave you 250 dollars for that painting!"

"What's the problem, Moishele? I'll give you 300, cash! Happy?"

"Mmm... ok... "business is business", as you said... take back the painting."

Meanwhile, Moishele's wife gets back home:

"Where's that lovely painting you bought from Yankele?"

"You'll be proud of me! He wanted it back and offered me 50 dollars extra for it, so I sold it back to him and made a nice little deal!"

"An ass! My husband is an ass! If he gave you an extra 50 dollars who knows how much it's really worth? Run, go buy it back from him!"

And so, the price of the painting keeps going up, like ping-pong: 300-350-400-450-500-600... The last to buy back the painting is Yankele who has bought it from Moishele for 2000 dollars.

As he is proudly returning home with the painting under his arm, a man in the street stops him saying:

"Excuse me, I just caught a glimpse of that painting you're carrying, please, let me get a better look, I beg you... Sir, this painting is a masterpiece! You must sell it to me! Tell me your price!"

"Easy for you to say! I just gave my friend Moishele 2000 dollars for this painting!"

"What's the problem, dear sir? I'll give you 4000 in cash. Do we have a deal?"

"My dear sir, this is music to my ears! As we say: business is business! Take the painting! It's yours!"

In the meantime, Moishele goes back to Yankele to buy the painting once again:

"Come on, I want the painting back! Let's have a little negotiation, you give me a reasonable price, we agree and there's no problems between us, you know that!"

"I'm sorry, dear Moishele, but it's not possible: I no longer have the painting."

"What do you mean «I no longer have the painting»?"

"I mean I no longer have the painting! I was walking down the street, a man saw it and said «What a beautiful painting, I want it», he offered me 4000 dollars, I sold it and made a fabulous deal."

Moishele takes on a pained expression of disgust and then says:

"Yankele, you say you made a great deal? What kind of a Jew have you become??? We were making such good money, just the two of us!!!" (...)