Whether one celebrates Passover or Easter, the darkness of James C. Wall’s “Auschwitz Lullaby” seemed all the more intense because of Circle Theater’s decision to open its production of this Holocaust drama on a weekend of spiritual significance.
But this ambitious storefront theater has never shied away from exposing its audiences to the darker sides of historical reality. The winner of several minor playwriting awards and previously produced only at a small theater in Oklahoma City, this weighty new work is set within the walls of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The playwright, who lives in Villa Park, is a high school teacher.
“Auschwitz Lullaby” is based on the diaries of Dr. Miklos Nyiszli (here fictionalized as Dr. Isaac Jonah and played by John Sterchi), a Jewish doctor forced to serve as the assistant to Josef Mengele, the notorious Nazi who murdered and dismembered people in the name of experimental quackery. Most of the action and dramatic tension in the play revolves around Jonah’s attempts to help an orphaned teenager (played by Madeleine Mager) escape from the camp. With the assistance of an inmate named Canada (David Krajecki) and his wife, Miriam (Barbara Eulenberg), Jonah fights against a drug-addicted Nazi captain (Christian Murphy) and a raped and abused kapo (Janelle Snow), whose personal pain has turned her into a dangerous parasite.
There are times when the mechanics of the play overwhelm its themes. And the playwright’s focus on the internal journey of the central doctor does not always live up to its promise–Sterchi’s Jonah sometimes is an overly distracted and distant figure, unable to hold our interest and sympathy. Wall would be better focusing more on the truth of his characters and a little less on portentous themes.
But this is still a remarkably strong production of a powerful play by a new writer who shows considerable potential. Superbly cast and imaginatively staged by its youthful director, Alena Murgulia, Circle manages to create a very credible and disturbing image of Auschwitz on its small stage. There’s some excellent acting, especially in the smaller roles. The haunting Mager is moving as a sad young woman caught in hell and Snow’s kapo is richly nuanced. Potential audiences should understand that this is a bleak, somber play, filled with death and violence. But it’s a potent reminder of a place where spiritual values had to fight for life.
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“Auschwitz Lullaby” is at the Circle Theatre, 7300 W. Madison St., Forest Park, through May 10; 708-771-0700.
