Review by
DAVID MIGUEL ESTRADA
EDITH STEIN, currently playing at the Most Holy Redeemer Church in New York, is a play about the Jewish Carmelite nun who was a convert to Catholicism and who eventually died a tragic death in Auschwitz with her fellow Jews. The Catholic Church canonized her in 1998 under her professed name, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, causing fierce opposition from the Jewish community. The play, written by esteemed playwright Arthur Giron, takes only a few liberties with the true story of Edith Stein, yet manages to retain a strong dramatic arc throughout. The result is a historical drama tour de force.
The direction by Lenny Delgado was passionate and thought-provoking. Under the direction of a less experienced director, the challenging religious subject matter could have come off as stale, but Delgado skillfully maneuvered around the trappings, which many religious plays often fall prey.
The play starts in the Carmelite convent outside the gates of Auschwitz in 1987 where Dr. Weisman ( Paul Thomas Ryan ) implores the Prioress ( Janis Roscoe ) to take Edith Stein's name off of the convent's building. Dr. Weisman, fishing for faults, then goes on to ask if the deceased nun had smoked. The Prioress assures him that she didn't. Time then shifts into the past as a young Edith Stein ( Ellen Seltz ) walks slowly into view, a huge puff of smoke coming out of her mouth. In the brief chiaroscuro lighting, Stein looks more like a film noir femme fatale than a nun, and from that point on, Seltz's Stein was mesmerizing. The actress effortlessly handled the progression of her character from unemployed philosophy major to nun candidate to church martyr. She displayed an acute vulnerability in the character's constant state of flux. What is most admirable about her performance was the ability to convey the sense of desperation in the character, whether it was her desperate desire to seek God in the convent, or her desperate yearning to get a letter from her mother, the actress had no problem transitioning from scene to scene. Every moment she was on stage was truthful and engaging.
Joan Slavin , who played the role of Edith's long-time friend Hannah, was astounding, as she seamlessly made the complex shift from an innocent youthful churchgoer to a resentful lonely widow. Her character's transformation symbolized the transformation of a whole people. Hannah displayed such energy and vitality early on in the play, that it was jarring and painful for the audience to see her in her final state, slumped over in tattered clothes and unkept hair. Her scene with Edith was poignant in that Hannah was the only character that the audience could see fully experiencing the Nazi occupation, not as a nun or as a part of the Nazi regime, but as a Jewish civilian. Slavin's Hannah was compelling. She brought the Nazi occupation right to the audience's face. Instead of just hearing about the atrocities from Hannah, the audience was able to experience it through the character's eyes.
A brooding Dane Anton Aska III gave life to the dark character Karl-Heinz, who was a Nazi officer obsessed with Edith Stein. Aska embodied the character with stately presence, and an effectively proud gait. In his full Nazi garb, the power-hungry character seemed the human embodiment of Milton's Lucifer. The pomp of the Karl-Heinz's Nazi ceremony juxtaposed with Edith's humble marriage ceremony to Christ was visually spellbinding. The writing and direction for the scene masterfully borrowed a filmic sense of rhythmic crosscutting.
C.J. Gelfand , flawlessly portrayed Edith's mother Frau Stein, and the scenes between mother and daughter proved to be some of the greatest moments of the play. Mrs. Gelfand's acting was so painstakingly good that she made it easy to forget you were watching actors in a play. She was best in the scene where Edith is gathering her belongs before she goes to the convent. No matter how Edith tries to explain her need to be in the convent, her mother will not give her blessing. The scene was transfixing, packed with such passion and tenderness that it transcended mere religious debate or family bickering. It became a revealing moment for two strong-willed characters that realize they can't change each other no matter how hard they try.
Paul Thomas Ryan played the older character of Dr. Weisman with a subtle, understated performance. Arianne Potter as Clara bedazzled with an endearing sprightliness and Timothy Meadow played a boisterous Franzy to the hilt.
Other standout performances include the Carmelite nuns; Mary Hart , who provided lots of comic relief as Sr. Prudence; Clara Drew as an uptight Sr. Ruth; and Roscoe, who reverentially played a wise, motherly Prioress. Eugene Solfanelli and Jared Waltzer respectively played very convincing Nazi guards. Even before the play started, they handed out tickets and programs in character.
The play used the church as it's backdrop and in retrospect, it is perhaps the most ideal place for a staging of this play. The best part about the use of the church was the small echo that reverberated after an actor spoke. This caused some characters to sound angelic, especially when singing, and others to sound ominous, when speaking forcefully or in a lower register. The sound design is well done by Drew and Chris Kelley . The lighting is minimally designed but boasts small staccato-like light cues towards the end of the show and before the intermission. The costumes were true to the period, especially those of the Nazi officers, and in particular the elaborate costume of Karl-Heinz. A beautiful performance with a message of hope and healing, it's unfortunate the play only ran two weeks.
Edith Stein played from December 3-13, 2003 at the Most Holy Redeemer Church at 173 East Third Street in Manhattan's East Village in New York.
You may contact David Miguel Estrada at david@davidmiguelestrada.com .
Click here to return to Reviews Archives
