During last year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival, I heard many people raving about a play called “My Sister” by Janet Schlapkohl, a poignant tale about identical twin sisters living together in 1930s Berlin. But due to my schedule, I was unable to see it then. So when I heard an expanded version of the smash Fringe hit was being given a full production at the Odyssey Theatre with Ron Sossi and Paul David Story co-directing identical twins Elizabeth Hinkler and Emily Hinkler, I rushed to make my reservation for opening night.
“Elizabeth and Emily are talented, charming and extremely charismatic,” says co-director Sossi who was so taken at the Fringe that he wanted to mount a full production. “This new version features additional cabaret sequences, songs and humor, and delves more deeply into the characters.”
In early 1930s Berlin, the days are growing dark for freedom of expression and for those who don’t fit the Nazi ideal of physical purity. Beautiful sisters Magda (Emily Hinkler), a fledgling chanteuse and comedienne at the local cabaret, and Matilde (Elizabeth Hinkler), writer of the satirical songs and comedy for Magda’s act, are identical in every way – identical genetic makeup. Identical humor. Identical dreams for the future. But cerebral palsy affects Matilde’s movement and speech, leaving her housebound. But the sisters are determined to be together forever with Magda doing everything she can to keep her less-abled sister indoors at all times since she knows about the blacked-out window vans that are taking away the “infirmed” to unknown treatment centers, never to be seen again. But given the circumstances of their lives at the time, it’s easy to figure out what is going ot happen to Matilde by the end of the play – and it is heartbreaking.
While Magda is the more vivacious of the sisters, Matilde is the more radically political of the two. But because she is shut away with only the BBC radio to keep her informed of the outside world, she remains unaware of the real truth going on outside her sheltered room. When Magda reheases her line, she eidts out the more political correct yet incorrect lines Matilde has written for fear of retribution by the “National Socialist spies” in the cabaret audience.The Hinkler twins are a natural pair together and their connectedness shows with every gesture and intonation of their dialogue with each other. Tender loving care is given to Matilde when she needs to dress or undress or use the makeshift toilet seat hidden within her desk chair so she does not have to use the bathroom down the hall where she may be seen by the block supervisor who lives across the hall.
“Because we’re identical, the audience is able to see past Matilde’s disability to the core of who she is,” suggest the petite Elizabeth and Emily, who not only look alike, but tend to finish each other’s sentences. “The issues addressed in the play are not just historical; they’re relevant today. Human rights. Disability awareness. Freedom of expression. This play gets that across in a very powerful way.”
As a writer, I shared with Eliza
An adjunct professor at the University of Iowa, Sclapkohl wrote the play with then-theater department students Emily (Magda) and Elizabeth (Matilde) in mind. My Sister premiered at the University of Iowa in September 2013, transferring to the Riverside Theatre Company in Iowa City a month later. In January, 2014, the production traveled to the Quad Cities Theatre Workshop, where it was so well received that it had an extended weekend of performances.
Last June, Story directed the Hinklers in My Sister at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, garnering two Fringe Awards – the Duende Distinction Award for Acting for each of the sisters. “I felt humbled, and my heart took a blow that needed about seventy five minutes to land — leaving me floored,” wrote fringe blogger David MacDowell Blue. “’My Sister’ is a don’t-miss gem, one of the highlights of this year’s Hollywood Fringe,” wrote Mark Hein on his Theatre Ghost site.
“This is a play about perception,” explains the playwright. “What makes us see somebody as lesser, or other, or different? Where that shift takes place is what fascinates me. With the Nazis, that was taken to the extreme. The disabled were the first group of people selected for extermination. It was easy to persuade the public, who believed it would end their suffering. Then gays – they’re not ‘right’ either. Political dissidents. Jews. It was all connected, a slippery slope. Sometimes I wonder… what would it have taken for me to go along?”
Story adds, “This is such an important play. The audience response at the Fringe was wonderful, and I’m delighted to be working in collaboration with the Odyssey.”
Elizabeth and Emily Hinkler hail from Chicago. Their long form music video Silk Duck // “Purple” and new media film The Bags, Probably 1971 with THISISYATES are currently screening at film festivals throughout the nation. Other credits that they share include the national tour of Out of Bounds (Working Group Theatre) and Martha Clarke’s In The Night (Iowa Partnership in the Arts). Emily appeared in The Bad Seed (Iowa Summer Repertory Theatre), and Elizabeth was seen in the Moving Company’s Out of the Pan Into The Fire, where she originated the role of Clever Elsie. Like Matilde, Elizabeth is an avid writer.
Janet Schlapkohl received her M.F.A. in Playwriting from the University of Iowa. She also has an M.S. in Education from the University of Iowa and a B.S. in Biology with minors in English, Chemistry and Education from Iowa State University. Her plays have been produced in New York City, Los Angeles, Colorado and across Iowa. She is the founder of Combined Efforts Theatre, Iowa’s only theater company with a mission of purposeful inclusion of individuals with disabilities. Schlapkohl was selected as a 2014 Visionary Playwright by Theater Masters and is the recipient of the Isabelle Turner Human Rights Award, the Richard Maibaum Award and the Finkbine Award for Human Rights.
Original music for My Sister is by Christopher Gene Okiishi, with lyrics by Janet Schlapkohl. Incidental music is by Barbara Rottman, who accompanies live during performances, and choreography is by Maureen Robinson. Set design is by Pete Hickok, lighting design is by Derrick McDaniel, sound design is by Christopher Moscatiello; costume design is by Audrey Eisner; and props design is by Danielle DeMasters, who also associate produces. The assistant director is Miranda Stewart, and Ron Sossi and Sally Essex Lopresti produce for Odyssey Theatre Ensemble.
Performances of My Sister take place on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., Jan. 16 through March 6. (On Sunday, Jan. 17 only, the performance will be at 5 p.m. with no 2 p.m. matinee.) Additional weeknight performances are scheduled on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Feb. 3 and Feb. 24, and on Thursdays at 8 p.m. on Feb. 11, Feb. 18 and March 3.
Three post-performance discussions will take place on Friday, Jan. 29; Thursday, Feb. 11; and Wednesday, Feb. 24 and are included in the ticket price.
Tickets are $34 on Saturdays and Sundays; $30 on Fridays; and $25 on Wednesdays and Thursdays, with $20 tickets available for seniors and $15 tickets for students and members of SAG/AFTRA/AEA.
There will be four “Tix for $10” performances on Friday, Jan. 22; Saturday, Jan. 23; Friday, Feb. 19; Wednesday, Feb. 24.
The third Friday of every month is wine night at the Odyssey: enjoy complimentary wine and snacks and mingle with the cast after the show.
The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles. For reservations and information, call (310) 477-2055 or go to www.odysseytheatre.com
