Nazi history by the textbook
THEATER REVIEW – The Providence Journal
Channing Gray | Journal Arts Writer | October 29, 2005 p. D01
Playwright Tony Kushner loves history. He was fascinated with the politics of Afghanistan in Homebody/Kabul, and delved into the beginnings of the Mormon Church in Angels in America.
Now he is tackling the rise of Nazi Germany in A Bright Room Called Day, a dense, often poetic play now receiving a decent run from Elemental Theatre. The company is being hosted by the Rhode Island Theatre Ensemble at its home at the First Universalist Church on Washington Street in Providence.
Bright Room is essentially a chronology of the rise of Hitler, of the burning of the Reichstag, the abolition of unions and the outlawing of Communism.
Nehassaiu de Gannes, as Zillah Katz, a paranoid East Village resident with “anarcho-punk” tendencies, rattles off the important dates in German history, sort of like a circus barker.
She sits in the back of the apartment of a group of young Germany Bohemians, even though she’s supposed to be in modern-day New York, commenting on our own political landscape. There is even a reference to Hurricane Katrina, which has been added to make this 1985 play as cogent as possible. There are several barbs leveled at President Bush including one in which Kushner wonders whether he can read.
Otherwise, we follow the exploits of a group of young activists struggling to survive in 1930’s Berlin, as the country is being seduced and swallowed up by National Socialism. It’s a play that’s a little like Rent meets the Third Reich.
We meet Agnes Eggling, a sometimes actress whose flat is where the action takes place. She has joined the Communist Party and has volunteered to come up with a skit involving paper dolls. Later she is told to burn all the materials, and not to speak of her activities.
Her lover is Vealtninc Husz, a Hungarian expatriate who lost an eye from a blow from a rifle butt. But he has decided not to stay in Berlin, and says a painful goodbye to Agnes.
Then there is Annabella Gotchling, a communist artist and graphic designer, and Gregor Bazwald, a gay worker for the Berlin Institute of Human Sexuality.
Director Peter Sampieri has succeeded in holding the disjointed, often sprawling drama together. The devil even shows up at one point. Sampieri has kept it quirky but well-paced.
D’Arcy Dersham stood out as Agnes, who serves as the glue that holds this production together, while Jen Swain makes an emotional, high-strung Annabella.
Kelly Seigh doubles as a minor functionary in the Communist Party who borders on hysteria, and as a sour old woman who haunts Agnes’ apartment looking for a crust of bread.
Matthew Korahais is okay as a Communist Party member, but really shines as the devil, who poses as an importer of Spanish novelties. He sports a cane and a disturbing death rattle.
DeGannes does what she can with her part as the announcer, but doesn’t have a big role.
Dan Bilodeau’s set, a couch with a couple of end tables, and a dining set, is draped with German slogans that are at one point ripped down in a German language lesson. They read, “mass graves,” “millions of people were dead.”
Like most of Kushner’s plays, this one rambles, and it sticks too close to the historical time line, with deGannes rattling off every minor event in the rise of the Nazi Party. Most of this material, of course, has been traversed before.
What the play needs is a more humanized treatment of the characters, a more solid story, and not such a textbook approach. Also, while the writing is at times brilliant, it can be a little hard to catch.
A Bright Room Called Day runs through Nov. 6 at the First Universalist Church, 250 Washington St., Providence. Tickets are $15, $12 for seniors and students, and $10 Thursdays. Call (401) 383-5146 or log on to www.elementaltheatre.org.
www.projo.com
The URL link to this article is no longer functional. We have reproduced the text of the article here. Any errors are the responsibility of Elemental Theatre.
Channing Gray | Journal Arts Writer | October 29, 2005 p. D01
Playwright Tony Kushner loves history. He was fascinated with the politics of Afghanistan in Homebody/Kabul, and delved into the beginnings of the Mormon Church in Angels in America.
Now he is tackling the rise of Nazi Germany in A Bright Room Called Day, a dense, often poetic play now receiving a decent run from Elemental Theatre. The company is being hosted by the Rhode Island Theatre Ensemble at its home at the First Universalist Church on Washington Street in Providence.
Bright Room is essentially a chronology of the rise of Hitler, of the burning of the Reichstag, the abolition of unions and the outlawing of Communism.
Nehassaiu de Gannes, as Zillah Katz, a paranoid East Village resident with “anarcho-punk” tendencies, rattles off the important dates in German history, sort of like a circus barker.
She sits in the back of the apartment of a group of young Germany Bohemians, even though she’s supposed to be in modern-day New York, commenting on our own political landscape. There is even a reference to Hurricane Katrina, which has been added to make this 1985 play as cogent as possible. There are several barbs leveled at President Bush including one in which Kushner wonders whether he can read.
Otherwise, we follow the exploits of a group of young activists struggling to survive in 1930’s Berlin, as the country is being seduced and swallowed up by National Socialism. It’s a play that’s a little like Rent meets the Third Reich.
We meet Agnes Eggling, a sometimes actress whose flat is where the action takes place. She has joined the Communist Party and has volunteered to come up with a skit involving paper dolls. Later she is told to burn all the materials, and not to speak of her activities.
Her lover is Vealtninc Husz, a Hungarian expatriate who lost an eye from a blow from a rifle butt. But he has decided not to stay in Berlin, and says a painful goodbye to Agnes.
Then there is Annabella Gotchling, a communist artist and graphic designer, and Gregor Bazwald, a gay worker for the Berlin Institute of Human Sexuality.
Director Peter Sampieri has succeeded in holding the disjointed, often sprawling drama together. The devil even shows up at one point. Sampieri has kept it quirky but well-paced.
D’Arcy Dersham stood out as Agnes, who serves as the glue that holds this production together, while Jen Swain makes an emotional, high-strung Annabella.
Kelly Seigh doubles as a minor functionary in the Communist Party who borders on hysteria, and as a sour old woman who haunts Agnes’ apartment looking for a crust of bread.
Matthew Korahais is okay as a Communist Party member, but really shines as the devil, who poses as an importer of Spanish novelties. He sports a cane and a disturbing death rattle.
DeGannes does what she can with her part as the announcer, but doesn’t have a big role.
Dan Bilodeau’s set, a couch with a couple of end tables, and a dining set, is draped with German slogans that are at one point ripped down in a German language lesson. They read, “mass graves,” “millions of people were dead.”
Like most of Kushner’s plays, this one rambles, and it sticks too close to the historical time line, with deGannes rattling off every minor event in the rise of the Nazi Party. Most of this material, of course, has been traversed before.
What the play needs is a more humanized treatment of the characters, a more solid story, and not such a textbook approach. Also, while the writing is at times brilliant, it can be a little hard to catch.
A Bright Room Called Day runs through Nov. 6 at the First Universalist Church, 250 Washington St., Providence. Tickets are $15, $12 for seniors and students, and $10 Thursdays. Call (401) 383-5146 or log on to www.elementaltheatre.org.
www.projo.com
The URL link to this article is no longer functional. We have reproduced the text of the article here. Any errors are the responsibility of Elemental Theatre.