Theater
OTTO
Presented at the Gordon Jewish Community Center
June 23 and 24
With its portrayal of Gestapo thuggery—and its rear-screen projection of Nazi documentary footage—Otto clearly qualifies as Holocaust drama. Yet it is also a straightforward family story, and quite an interesting one. While the Nazis forcibly divest paterfamilias Ernst of his business and trappings of wealth, the family, including his two young boys and his mother-in-law, must endure the manically troubling, sometimes physically abusive behavior of wife Karla.
Just Being Social(ist) Ernst (Shane Bridges) and the Gestapo
The story is told in flashbacks, which the adult Abeles (warmly portrayed by Rodney Pickel) narrates. As the gathering Nazi storm strips the Abeles clan of their creature comforts, Karla’s rages and ultimately unexplained cruelties create emotional havoc, especially for the children (played here with exceptional poise by teenage Markus McClain as Heinz Robert and 9-year-old Thomas Kohann as the boy Abeles).
There’s not a bad performance anywhere in this large cast of 15. Shane Bridges provides a sustained and credible portrait of quiet stoicism and determination as father Ernst, who scratches out a meager living under the new Nazi regime. Sara Dhom also gives an excellent performance as the grandmother Pipen, who provides the only sign of traditional maternal love in the Abeles household.
Carrying the bulk of the play’s histrionic weight is Becky Panknin as Karla. She brings to this demanding role an affecting power, one that makes us cringe at her every outburst. Yet such is the power of Panknin’s performance that we also feel sympathy for her tortured character. Panknin’s portrayal helps us better understand the play’s denouement, when the older Abeles, having enjoyed years of American freedom and prosperity, comes to reflect wistfully on the nature of forgiveness.
Mommie Dearest Becky Panknin and Thomas Kohann
The direction is a collaboration between playwright Dorian and Victoria Lamberth, and they make good use of Ray Ingram and Chip Weinstein’s art deco living room. (There’s also an interesting, gauzy set designed to portray deceased characters in memory mode.)
Yet for all that is good with Otto’s staging, the play still needs help with editing. A 90-minute Act 1 is followed by a 60-minute Act 2, and Dorian’s 19 scenes, while courageously performed by all involved, eventually seem as oppressive as the Nazis themselves. More thoughtful, even ruthless pruning would give this promising new work a chance to gain wider acceptance from a general audience.Otto is a long evening of theater, requiring patience in viewing. It conjures the unpleasant historical past while also revealing the darker side of family life, yet it concludes in a spirit of long-overdue triumph.