For those of us with family roots that go back to Eastern Europe during World War II, the Holocaust is always relevant since so much was taken from us for no other reason than we were born Jewish.
So I did not hesitate to attend when I heard that “Wiesenthal,” the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production based on the life of Simon Wiesenthal, was returning to Los Angeles at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills.
“Wiesenthal” tells the powerful true story of Simon Wiesenthal, often called the “Jewish James Bond,” a Holocaust survivor who, after cheating death at the hands of Hitler’s S.S., spent his life bringing to justice the most notorious war criminals in human history. This provocative solo performance, written and performed by Tom Dugan and directed by Jenny Sullivan, is an uplifting and highly entertaining one-man show that unfolds like a gripping spy thriller, telling how Wiesenthal devoted his life to bringing more than 1,100 Nazi war criminals to justice after WW II.
For those not familiar with his life, Simon Wiesenthal was born in 1908 in what is now Ukraine. He received his architectural engineering degree in 1932 and was married in 1936 to Cyla Mueller. During World War II, Wiesenthal was imprisoned in five different Nazi concentration camps and by 1942, 89 members of his and his wife’s relatives had perished from being sent to these death camps. Dugan recounts Weisenthal’s experiences with such emotional impact, you will feel his pain as well as his will to survive the camps.
Especially moving was his physicality when, during a death march, Wiesenthal was rescued by Americans arriving in tanks. While struggling to even stand up, Weisenthal reached for the stars to make his experience real, and this time it was the stars on the American flag atop the tank. Dugan definitely shared the joyous relief of a man nearly broken to his soul, his eyes deep pools of overwhelming relief.
After Wiesenthal survived World War II, he dedicated his life to Holocaust memory and education and founded the Jewish Documentation Center in Vienna. “Wiesenthal” takes place in his office in 2003 on the last day he worked there, with the audience acting as his last group of visitors to learn more about his life and work. As such, audience members interact with Dugan throughout the show, during which he actually stopped the action for a moment as Wiesenthal to ask an usher to relieve an audience member of her noisy cell phone without missing a beat. I wish all actors could do this as effortlessly as Dugan did.
He thoroughly researched Wiesenthal and his life to recount tales of how he worked tirelessly to investigate and locate Nazi criminals for prosecution, including Adolph Eichmann and Franz Stangl, two of the most notorious Holocaust enablers. To completely inhabit the role, Dugan shaved half his head to better resemble Wiesenthal and worked with a dialect coach to effectively and clearly speak with a strong Viennese-Jewish accent. And in a talk back after the show, his native New Jersey-Catholic accent really took me by surprise!
I was especially intrigued by the map on display in Wiesenthal’s office that had Post-It notes and other markings on it relating to concentration camps throughout Europe and the ways in which they were connected to each other via rail lines. Dugan invited me to come onstage after the talk back, during which I spoke with stage manager Katherine Barrett (no relation) who told me of many audience members who have attended the show and told her of their ties to the Holocaust, and how much the show affected them, as it did me.
Perhaps the most intriguing story she shared was when Adolph Eichmann’s great-granddaughter attended and learned the truth about what he really had done, as her family had kept silent about him. What an experience that must have been for both women!
Simon Wiesenthal died in 2005 in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 96. Los Angeles’ The Simon Wiesenthal Center is named in his honor and contains his real office just as he left it when he retired, on the day the play “Wiesenthal” takes place.
A lesson for all time is Weisenthal’s mission to give voice to those who were silenced, encouraging future generations to fight against hatred and intolerance for all people regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation. Even so, Weisenthal admits he loves all people but does not trust them. Certainly any of us who have known a Holocaust survivor can understand that reasoning. May we all work to achieve tolerance, understanding and equality everywhere in the world to honor his memory.
“Wiesenthal” will run for 17 performances through Nov. 8, on Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets range from $40 to $50 and are available at www.thewallis.org, by calling 310-746-4000, or in person at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills.
