Just Do It

Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad

by Amy Strauss

Fri., Dec. 15, 8 and 10 p.m., $15, The Five Spot, 5 S. Bank St., 215-574-0070, www.nicejewishgirlsgonebad.com

Before actress Susannah Perlman gears up her Honda Civic for the trip from New York to Philly, she'll be hitting the books for her cantorial class. Her faith tends to seep its way into her night job as well—it's here that she transforms into the sassy, hula-hooping Goddess Perlman, ringleader of Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad, a vaudevillian expose of the Chosen People that's hitting Philly for a one-night-only performance.

Her revolving cast features 30 girls, each with specific talents that range from spoken word and song to poetry and art. Their cabaret-style satire is proof that their overbearing mothers haven't washed out their potty mouths in years: They're known to go off on topics like small penises, Kabbalah, feminine hygiene and mamzers.

Each of the troupe's members, which include Best Week Ever's Rena Zagler, Vanessa "Hebrew Mamita" Hidary and Burlesque All-Stars' Sister Schmaltz, goes out of her G-d-fearing way to make certain the audience has a Yinglish-ridden good time.

"Everyone does their own thing," says Perlman. "Once I hear about a female comedian in the scene, I ask her if she wants to 'Jew it.'"