Theatrius
  • Now Playing
  • All Reviews
  • Writers
  • Reflections
  • Millennial Notes
  • Join Us
  • About Us
  • Search Icon

Theatrius

Theater Reviews—San Francisco and Beyond

“The Obligation” Delivers Life Lessons, at Potrero Stage, S.F.

“The Obligation” Delivers Life Lessons, at Potrero Stage, S.F.

October 16, 2018 Ishai Padawer

Millennial Notes

Roger Grunwald Embodies Holocaust Stories

by Ishai Padawer

I was excited to see “The Obligation” at Potrero Stage in San Francisco. Not because I had any idea about Roger Grunwald’s acting (it’s great), or about Nancy Carlin’s directing (it’s excellent). I was excited because I have an unhealthy obsession with the Holocaust since I grew up on a Kibbutz in Israel.  Like most other kids, my parents and teachers dragged me to annual Holocaust memorials, and I watched endless war footage on TV. I spent hours in the library looking at books on World War II.

Roger Grunwald in “The Obligation.”    Photos by mellophoto.com

“The Obligation” ticks all the boxes for a history buff. Dense with esoteric Third Reich facts, figures, and photos, Grunwald’s show can feel like a college history class—fine with me. What the play lacks in character interactions and nuance it makes up with ample historical context.

Grunwald’s one-man show is based on “The Mitzvah,” his earlier play, but “The Obligation” expands on memory and “memorialism.” He digs into the ‘meaning’ of the Holocaust as a personal event, as a shock to one person. He also brings to light the gravity of the Holocaust as a global experience.

“The Obligation,” written and performed by Roger Grunwald

Grunwald switches between characters, languages, and accents  frequently, adding layers of complexity surprising in a solo performance. The story hinges on a particular single event that affects each character: the murder of a mother and child in the killing fields of Bialistok, Poland.

The plot, full of flashbacks and non-linear shuffling, weaves together the lives of three main players. Schmuel Berkowicz, an Auschwitz survivor, tells us about his suffering and deliverance.  Christoph Rosenberg, a half-Jewish First Lieutenant in the Wehrmacht, confesses his conflicts about service to Germany and Hitler. Odilo Globocnik, a historical figure, remains an unapologetic and accusing Nazi. In addition, the One-Man Chorus, an amalgam of mid-century Jewish-American comedians, provides welcome comic relief.

THE OBLIGATION, written and performed by Roger Grunwald

Grunwald, the veteran actor-turned-activist, keeps up a grueling pace, with identity changes marked by clever wardrobe and accent switches. “The Obligation” offers up three distinct voices from the Holocaust and the War, helping us connect the tragedies of the past with the turmoil of the present.

When we follow Schmuel into a New York hospital to get his blood drawn, we are catapulted back to Auschwitz to witness the tattooing of his arm. Then, when we listen to a confounded Christoph lament his destructive hands, we are thrown into Grunwald’s slapstick Chorus. Although the abrupt changes can feel cumbersome, they help to keep us engaged in the plot, as we solve a greater puzzle.

Roger Grunwald

It’s easy to steer clear of plays about a subject matter as somber as the Holocaust. However, “The Obligation” makes it work exactly because of its solemnity, and its bittersweet humor. We tend to avoid the most difficult parts of the past— it’s unpleasant to discuss racism, hate, and genocide. But the alternative is much more unpleasant. The alternative is forgetting and repeating history.

 

“The Obligation” written and performed by Roger Grunwald, directed by Nancy Carlin, by The Mitzvah Project in association with Playground, at Potrero Stage, 1695 18th Street, San Francisco, through Sunday, November 4, 2018. Info: potrerostage.org

Cast: Roger Grunwald


Millennial Notes, Plays
Jewish History, Memorialism, Roger Grunwald, solo show, The Holocaust, World War Two

Post navigation

NEXT
“Seen/By Everyone” Lyrically Dissects Online Grief, at Yugen, S.F.
PREVIOUS
“Fairview” Takes Back Black Culture, at Berkeley Rep
Comments are closed.

Menu

  • Now Playing
  • All Reviews
  • Writers
  • Reflections
  • Millennial Notes
  • Join Us
  • About Us

BLM

Black Lives Matter

Current Shows

  • “Hat Matter” Unfolds Fashion as Political Action—at OTP
  • “Monument, or Four Sisters” Explores Loss of Love & Coral Reefs—at Magic Theatre
  • “Paper Dreams of Harry Chin” Reveals Chinese American Fears—at SF Playhouse
  • “Going Out”: Humorous & Heartfelt Memories thru a COVID Lens—at The Marsh
  • “The Government Inspector”: Classic Comedy Mocks Corrupt Officials—at Ross Valley
  • “Our Town”: Small Town Charm Exposes Need for Change—at Center REP
  • “Octet” Invites Musical Escape from Internet Tyranny—at Berkeley Rep
  • “PrEP Play, or Blue Parachute”: Packed with Plots and Passions—at NCTC
  •  “Allegiance”: A Musical that Entertains & Instructs—at Palo Alto Players
  • “Crowns” Spotlights African American Perseverance—at CCCT
  • “Drowning in Cairo” Plumbs Depths of Homophobia—at Golden Thread
  • “The Incrementalist”—A Tender, Illuminating View of Compromise—at Aurora
  •  “One Flea Spare”: Praiseworthy Experiment Pays Off—at Main Stage West
  • “Endlings” Unnerves with Extinction Nightmares—at Oakland Theater Project
  • “Gem of the Ocean”: A Mighty Cruise to African Epiphany—at TheatreWorks   

About us:

If you want to see the best plays & performances around the San Francisco Bay or beyond, read our reviews. We promise to give you a true report on the best shows.
Bay Area Critics Circle

Barry David Horwitz, Editor of Theatrius, is a Voting Member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle, SFBATCC. Follow us on: facebook.com

Subscribe for upcoming reviews!
Loading
© 2022   All Rights Reserved.