It's almost Hanukkah time again but Eve's life has been spinning out of control since her dad died a year ago. Her mom hurriedly rid herself of all his possessions and revamped the house-now she wants to sell it. Little sister Rosie is getting married, and though Eve is ostensibly the maid of honor, Rosie asks her friend to accept the maid of honor duties. Actually, that suited Eve just fine as Rosie has always been a whiner. Her best friend and work colleague, Sasha, has pretty well checked out of Eve's life, spending most of her time with her boyfriend. And the guy who makes her laugh at work seems to be totally wrapped up in his new husband (the doctor). Her job as a copywriter at a large Chicago ad agency is in jeopardy and it seems more likely that employees will get holiday layoffs rather than holiday bonuses. Eve shuts down her phone and refuses to check texts or messages because why should she leave herself open to more bad news?
But the kicker is that Eve RSVPED the wedding invitation stating that she was bringing a plus one, and since she hasn't had a second date in a long time, everyone was curious who this mystery person would be. She had six weeks to find a guy to take her to the wedding, but everyone she asked turned her down-including the British guy across the hall who Eve had asked after a big night of drinking. "Hot Josh," as she called him in her fantasies, had a previous commitment that day (yeah right) so she was stuck going solo.
As she woke up from that disastrous night, she vaguely remembered that she had been in the apartment laundry room, washing the booze smell from her coat. What was the clay-like substance down there and what did it have to do with her...and who was that naked hunky guy staring at her in the bedroom? Bubbe told her tales of Jewish lore, including that of the golem, but they were just stories, right...RIGHT?
Kander spins a romantic tale with humor and pathos. Eve is so wrapped up in her own problems that she sees the world through blinders, distorting everything she thinks she knows about friends and family. Will she learn to actually see beneath the surface and accept people's flaws?
With its take on the problems of the modern Jewish girl, especially during the Christmas dilemma, I Made it Out of Clay will make a wonderful Hanukkah story that can be enjoyed all year long.
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