`Beau Jest’ a heartwarming look at family life

Sarah Goldman is in love with a goy. That may not sound bad to you. It may not sound bad to me. But to her parents? Oy vey.

To protect them, and really to protect herself, Sarah lies about the relationship she has been having with Chris for the past several months. She invites her parents to dinner, sends her real boyfriend packing for the night, and hires Bob, an actor from a professional escort company, to play the role.

Except, as it turns out, Bob isn’t Jewish, either. He is an actor, however. And act he does. It’s a good thing he was once in “Fiddler on the Roof,” because lines from that show help him bluff his way through Hebrew prayers. It’s also a good thing he coincidentally knows a few medical terms, because Sarah told her parents he’s a doctor. “What’s your specialty?” Sarah’s brother Jacob asks. “Oh, brains and hearts,” Bob, alias David Steinberg, answers.

This is the setup of James Sherman’s “Beau Jest,” a comedy of terrors spunkily put on by the Belfast Maskers through Sept. 6. There’s the daughter who doesn’t want to offend her parents, the psychologist brother who analyzes the situation, crazy parents who can’t take the truth and two mensches down on their knees asking to have Sarah’s hand in marriage. It’s family dysfunction at its very best.

Directed energetically by Robert Hitt, the show is a fun romance not for the whole family but about the whole family. And the cast of actors creates both the warmth and whammies that come with family politics. The central question is: How do you have your own life plus the life your parents want for you, too?

The first answer is: You lie.

The second answer is: You grow up.

Sarah, played with unnerved liveliness by Venita Robinson, makes the grade, but not before getting herself into a fine mess. Bob, played boyishly by Peter Conant, is plenty nice, and when he falls for her, we can’t help but root for them as a real couple.

Michael Fowler, as Joel, and David Demere, as the real boyfriend, are spritely.

But the super bonuses of this show are Jaci Sieben, as the mother, and Dennis Harrington, as the father. Their characters are the most fully developed, and whenever they’re onstage, the entertainment factor skyrockets. What with all the sparring and complaining they do with each other, you’d think they had been a happily married couple for at least 30 years.

Set in an apartment in Chicago (with a magnificently comfortable set by Jim Reitz), this fast-paced three-act is distinctly Jewish. But the messages are universal. You should want to live a good life? Then face up, grow up and ‘fess up. And have some kugel and laughter, too.

The Belfast Maskers will present “Beau Jest” 8 p.m. Thursday-Sunday through Sept. 6 at the Railroad Theatre in Belfast. For tickets,