Tom Stoppard's stunning 'Leopoldstadt' at Shakespeare Theatre

Shakespeare Theatre Company's Leopoldstadt opens with a happy Christmas scene/Teresa Castracane, photo

Leopoldstadt is the name of a district outside Vienna which was the most cosmopolitan of cities in the late 19th century, with celebrated music, theatre, and the arts. Many of Leopoldstadt's residents were Jewish, and notable residents have included Billy Wilder and Johann Strauss and his son.

The play, Leopoldstadt won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2023, making Sir Tom Stoppard, the playwright, the winner of five Tonys for Best Play, more than anyone else, he, the author of more than 35 stage plays.

Stoppard is famous for his comedic, realistic portrayals of society and the issues of the day, but Leopoldstadt is no comedy.

The cover of Shakespeare Theatre Company's program is a photograph of a young Stoppard (now 87) when he was a toddler, although he says Leopoldstadt is not an autobiographical play.

The production opens upon a luxurious set at the home of a wealthy Jewish family amidst ostensibly happy times in 1899 with a holiday celebration and a Christmas tree.

Critical family members are introduced and we follow them along as they grow up and mature with stops in 1924, 1938, and 1955. Due to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, the family disintegrates.

Hermann (Nael Nacer) becomes the new "papist" in the group, so tabbed by Grandma Emilia, (Phyllis Kay) the family's strong matriarch. Hermann realizes he'll never be successful in Vienna as a Jew and he marries a Catholic.

Over time, scenes grow darker, more somber. Books disappear from shelves; the increasingly bleak chambers match the dull clothing.

The cast of Shakespeare Theatre Company's Leopoldstadt/ Teresa Castracane, photo

Even with the big family tree included in the program, it is not easy keeping up with the large cast (22) and who's who, but that remains secondary to the message.

STC's production is outstanding and certain to linger: the costumes (Victorian for a while), the sets, the acting, the sounds. The sounds! They’re excruciating as the play develops. The Nazi noises; the explosions, the sirens, the pounding at the door (by Jane Shaw).

You know the ending but getting to it with the Merz family and their slow recognition over the years of the harsh realities of their futures; their avoidance of what they knew was likely to be.

And who can blame them?

Stoppard was an adult before he learned of his Jewish background, that all his grandparents and three of his mother's sisters who were Jewish died in the Holocaust. Stoppard was born in Czechoslovakia whose father died when he was 4. His mother married a British officer whose surname Stoppard adopted.

According to program notes, Stoppard did not write Leopoldstadt until after his mother’s death.

Three generations celebrate their existence until there is no more. A theatre classic which reminds us it can happen again. And it is.

Six young local actors are the delightful children who perform at alternate shows: Harrison Morford, William Morford, Teddy Schechter, Adrianna Weir, Mila Weir, and Audrey Ella Wolff.

Everything about the performance is stunning, from the lighting (by Robert Wierzel) to costumes (by Alex Jaeger), and acting (director, Carey Perloff).

Other production designers are Ken McDonald, scenics; Tom Watson, wigs and hair; Yuki Izumihara, projections.

Director Perloff's family also was affected by the Nazis: Her mother had to flee Vienna in 1938.


What: Leopoldstadt

When: Now through Dec. 29, 2024

Where: Shakespeare Theatre Company, Harman Hall, 610 F St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20004

Duration: Approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes with one 15-minute intermission (but it seems much shorter).

Single tickets start at $35. Call the box office at 202-547-1122. Visit ShakespeareTheatre.org.

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National Archives receives WWII diary in signing ceremony

 Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, shows pages from the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr., given by the Foundation to National Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Pages from the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. given by the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art to National Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie


 In a signing ceremony Monday morning at the U.S. National Archives, on the eve of the 74th anniversary of the suicide of Adolph Hitler, a diary kept by a U.S. Navy Reservist about Nazi art theft in World War II was donated to the National Archives by the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art.

The diarist, S. Lane Faison, Jr. (1907-2006), recorded observations he made during 1950 and 1951 when he directed the Munich Central Collecting Point which was a storehouse and distribution center for the recovery of art the Nazis seized from museums and private collectors.

A page from the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. given by the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art to National Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie


 Since the National Archives affords access to records by all and Monuments Men wants as many persons to see the documents as possible, it made sense for Archives to have the diary, Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation, said at the ceremony.

Earlier, Mr. Faison's four sons had given the book to the Foundation.

 

Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist and "expert on Holocaust-era asset records," with S. Lane Faison, Jr.'s diary/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

From left, Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist, with Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, at the signing ceremony at National Archives for the gift acceptance from the Monuments Men Foundation to Archives of S. Lane Faison, Jr.'s diary. Open on the table are pages from one of 43 "Hitler's Albums" recovered and at Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The diary will be reunited with 43 volumes of the "Hitler Albums" which have been recovered and already given by the Foundation to the Archives where they may be digitally accessed. The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg , the Nazi task force devoted to seizing art and other valuables, compiled the albums, perhaps for the pleasure of Hitler who loved art, Mr. Edsel said.

The volumes are among the estimated 100 albums of photographs of stolen art the Nazis kept with careful documentation about each piece, including the rightful owner, said Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist at Archives and "expert on Holocaust-era assets," according to an Archives statement.

A page from one of "Hitler's Albums" on display at the signing ceremony for the gift acceptance of the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. by National Archives from the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A photograph of a stolen painting from one of "Hitler's Albums." Under the photograph is picture identification (below)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In a "Hitler Album," the identification page underneath the photo which identifies the painting and the family from whom the Nazis stole it, as carefully recorded by the Nazis/Photo by Patricia Leslie


 The majority of the volumes are still missing, and presumably sitting in attics, barns, old houses and garages. A team of about five researchers from the Foundation is actively searching for them, Mr. Edsel said.

It is a crime for anyone to knowingly sell historical documents, artifacts and other records.

The albums were all the same size, Dr. Bradsher said, and were used as evidence during the Nuremberg trials.

Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, notes that not all 43  recovered "Hitler Albums" have title pages. The one on display has a title page/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On the left is David Ferriero, archivist of the U.S., who signed documents to accept the gift of the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. from the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art,. Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men, is on the right and, standing, is Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From left, David Ferriero, archivist of the U.S., Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, and Dr. Greg Bradsher at the signing ceremony at National Archives for the gift from the Monuments Men Foundation of the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. to National Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie


 Mr. Edsel said art was extremely important to Hitler who kept volumes of it from the time he was 16 until he died, including some of the "Hitler Albums."

During the war, General Dwight D. Eisenhower issued more than one order to Allied troops that they leave premises as they found them and not take souvenirs, Mr. Edsel and Dr. Bradsher said. With teenaged and 20-something aged soldiers, the order was difficult to follow and enforce.

Today, these sites would be treated as crime scenes, said Mr. Edsel who wrote The Monuments Men which was picked up by George Clooney and made into a film in 2014.

From left, David Ferriero, archivist of the U.S., Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, and Dr. Greg Bradsher with S. Lane Faison. Jr.'s diary/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From left, David Ferriero, archivist of the U.S., Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist, and Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, with S. Lane Faison. Jr.'s diary on the left on the table and, on the right, one of 43 recovered "Hitler Albums"/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At Williams College, Mr. Faison was the director of the Museum of Art and headed the art history department where one of his students was recently retired National Gallery of Art director, Earl A. Powell III. Photographs of looted art and memorabilia seized by the Nazis may also be found at the National Gallery’s own Munich Central Collecting Point Archive.

Mr. Faison was born in Washington, D.C.

According to Hilary Parkinson of the Archives' public affairs office:

"The diary will be available to the public in NARA’s textual research room at College Park in the near future. We will be exploring options for providing access to digital images once the diary has been transferred to College Park.
 

"Some of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) Photograph Albums have been digitized and can be seen here."

Also present at the ceremony was David Ferriero, archivist of the United States.

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For film archives: 'After Auschwitz'

In a new chapter of the wrenching Holocaust story comes a sad and remarkable documentary, After Auschwitz, by Jon Kean about six women who survived Nazi death camps to cross the Atlantic, marry, and become successful American citizens.

After release by American and Russian soldiers into the woods and on the streets of Germany at the close of World War II, these women struggled at times with new found freedoms, but eventually, in gradual transformations, could claim victory over fear, brutality, and starvation.

Testaments to their miracles of human perseverance, persistence, and sheer drive are understated descriptions of these pioneers.

Without giving the contents much thought in advance, I anticipated a quarter of the film to be scenes before and after the concentration camps, but I was wrong.  Gruesome visuals filled far more than 25 percent, no pictures or videos which I recognized.  This is not for the weak.

That the movie was a long time in production is not surprising given the years the directors/producers/researchers must have spent  searching for film to match the ladies' stories, and they found them!

After you get out of prison and are set free, where do you go to look for your parents? Or your brother? Or cousins or old friends?

One woman made it back to her home town on foot to find her family's house occupied by a new family who wore her family's clothing.
 
About 75 percent of Holocaust victims who lived were the only members of their families to survive.

One of the women cautions at the end: It can happen again, and it is happening, in Sudan and other places. Large numbers of skeptics deny the existence of the Holocaust. Violence, intolerance, and discrimination against those who may differ from you and from me are found every day in the news.
At Rotten Tomatoes the film's score is 100%.

Photographs and brief biographical sketches of the film's six women, some of whom are deceased, may be found at the movie's website here.

They are:
 
Eva (Schick) Beckmann, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia

Rena (Honigman) Drexler, born in Sosnowiec, Poland

Renee (Weinfeld) Firestone, born in Uzhorod, Czechoslovakia

Erika (Engel) Jacoby, born in Miscolc, Hungary

Lili (Nutkowicz) Majzner, born in Lodz, Poland

Linda (Scheffer) Sherman, born in Amsterdam, Holland

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