James Barry and Russell Sams star in the American Premiere of EAST OF BERLIN, written by Hannah Moscovitch and now playing at the NoHo Arts Center in North Hollywood. PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Brown

The multi-award-winning NoHo Arts Center Ensemble (NoHo ACE) in association with 49th Parallel Theatre presents the American Premier of EAST OF BERLIN, written by Hannah Moscovitch and directed by Chris “CB” Brown and Sara Botsford. EAST OF BERLIN is about the next generation and asks what happens when you discover your Father was a Nazi war criminal? What happens when two sons of SS Officers fall in love with each other? What happens when your Mother survives Auschwitz and you fall I love with a German?

The lights dim, soft classical music plays as Rudi ( Russell Sams) gradually appears and begins to describe how he became a chain smoker and the daily behavior of his obsessive compulsive father that he believed to have been shot in the arm while serving in Russia as a German soldier during the war, an injury that lead to his father being reassigned to a camp as a physician during World War II. A difficult subject to describe and one that Moscovitch has interjected with humorous descriptions of Rudi’s father but I’m sure the audience relived terms such as Auschwitz; kristallnacht; Reichstag; mein kampf; the Final Solution and Adolph Hitler. Germany lost the war and Rudy’s family escaped from West Berlin, settling into a comfortable lifestyle with servants in South America assisted by Project Reinhardt. Rudy is several years older as he flashes back to his childhood describing the events that led up to his present day introduction, taking the audience into tragic events that began in school on the day he is confronted with the truth.

Herman ( James Barry) is Rudy’s friend and also his biology lab partner that casually says to Rudy in the middle of dissecting and taking notes on their observations that “dissecting a cockroach is a lot like what your father did to the Jews”. This comes as a shock that needs clarification and to clarify the statement Rudy is informed that his old man was one of the monsters who performed unspeakable medical experiments on the inmates at Auschwitz. Rudy denies the allegations believing his fathers story of having been shot and serving only as a doctor.

The question that must be answered is “What do you do when you find out your father was a Nazi War Criminal?” Well, Rudy of course confronts his father, violently at one point concerning his involvement during the war but given little in the way of an explanation as to why he took part in the horrible atrocities, his father only saying, “that’s the way it is.” Rudy does realize that there is a way to distance himself from his father and also redeem himself of the events of the past and one of his methods is found in the closeness of his friend Herman. A very close and intimate relationship evolves their involvement is witnessed by Rudy’s father one day, an act that was the ultimate retribution, an act of redemption had been committed against his Nazi father. The question that must now be answered is “What happens when sons of two Nazi SS officers fall in love with each other?”

Fast forward to Rudy returning to Germany again with the help of Project Rhinehold to attend medical school. So much like his father and yet wanting to be different he drops out of medical school after a failed dissection of a cadaver, remembering the cruel acts of his SS Nazi physician father during the war and not being able to be like him in any manner and providing another act of retribution.

Rudy immerses himself in library research of his father’s past and meets Sarah ( Carolyn Stotes) a lovely Jewish girl that is also interested in researching her past, the history of her family, the daughter of a German soldier and mother who survived Auschwitz. The question now becomes, “What happens when the son of an SS officer falls in love with a girl whose mother is a survivor of Auschwitz?” Besides of course committing another act of retribution and maybe redemption in marrying this young woman who becomes pregnant.

Moscovitch writes a very touching ending  and final solution of her own in dealing with Rudy’s hatred for his father through redemption, atonement, retribution and love for a his bride to be that has been put on hold until he proves himself by turning in his father as a war criminal.

This is a fantastic play done with sensitivity and a taste of humor in describing how generations of children deal with the disgusting history of their parent’s involvement in the Final Solution. A scenario that has played out in many ways including sons of SS officers becoming rabbis or performing works of German Jewish poet Heinrich Heine according to Moscovitch.

Our final question becomes, “How did the son of a German SS officer continue to live with the guilt of his father’s past?”

THIS MAD CARNIVAL OF LOVING

by: Heinrich Heine (1799-1856)
 THIS mad carnival of loving,
This wild orgy of the flesh,
Ends at last and we two, sobered,
Look at one another, yawning.
 
Emptied the inflaming cup
That was filled with sensuous potions,
Foaming, almost running over--
Emptied is the flaming cup.
 
All the violins are silent
That impelled our feet to dancing,
To the giddy dance of passion--
Silent are the violins.
 
All the lanterns now are darkened
That once poured their streaming brilliance
On the masquerades and murmurs--
Darkened now are all the lanterns.
 
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY: LOUIS UNTERMEYER
" This Mad Carnival of Loving" is reprinted from Poetica Erotica. Ed. T.R. Smith. New York: Crown Publishers, 1921.

EAST OF BERLIN

WHO:
Written by: Hannah Moscovitch
Directed by: Chris “CB” Brown & Sara Botsford
Cast:
James Barry (Hermann)
Russell Sams (Rudi)
Carolyn Stotes (Sarah)

WHEN:
Preview:  Friday, May 29th at 8pm; Saturday, May 30 at 8pm; Sunday, May 31 at 3pm
 Thursday, June 4 at 8pm
Open: Friday, June 5th at 8pm

Performances through Sunday, July 19th.
Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm
Sundays at 3pm

WHERE:
The NoHo Arts Center and The NoHo Arts Center Ensemble
11136 Magnolio Blvd. ( at Lankershim)
North Hollywood, CA

TICKETS:
$25.00 for all performances
$20.00 for Student/Senior

For tickets please call 818-508-7101 x7 or visit http://thenohoartscenter.com

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