Ella Dershowitz (Photo: Valerie Terranova)

 

Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library

By Julia Polinsky

A basement prison cell: white walls, high windows. Two chairs, a desk, a door. A young man (Brett Temple) in a German army uniform of the early 1930s hustles in a young woman (Ella Dershowitz). He demands her purse, coat, gloves; when she surrenders these items, he frisks her.

Her interrogation begins. She is Mrs. Stern, maiden name Arendt, first name Hannah. And she has no idea why she's been arrested.

Arendt, a German Jew, held a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Heidelberg; she knew many of the great minds of that time and place. Her life in the early 20^th C. was fairly typical for a moderately prosperous Jewish intellectual until the rise of Naziism changed the laws and made her exceptionally vulnerable: a young Jewish woman in Germany who wrote about love, identity, assimilation during the rise of Naziism. And now, she's been arrested, and her mother, whom we never see, with her.

So begins Luna Stage's production of Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library, a cautionary tale by Jenny Lyn Bader about the abuses of rising authoritarian government and the remarkable, surprising kindness of one man in the face of it. Based on an incident Arendt's life, the scenario of Mrs. Stern. offers opportunity aplenty for big drama.

Ella Dershowitz, Brett Temple (Photo: Valerie Terranova)

Mrs. Stern has been arrested for knowing the wrong people - Zionists - and being a political activist. She's accused of making it possible for people outside Germany to see the antisemitic statements and images published in German media - essentially, of making Germany look bad. Karl accuses her of mimeographing these images as she works in the Prussian State Library, and sending them overseas, a charge she refutes by claiming that the smell of the mimeo machine makes her sick.

The officer, Karl, offers Mrs. Stern a seat and a coffee; later, he brings her cigarettes. This seems staggeringly unlikely for a Gestapo officer, so we are not surprised to learn that the very young Karl was just promoted from criminal police to political police, and Mrs. Stern is his first arrest and interrogation. Far from exemplifying the banality of evil - a phrase Arendt herself coined - Karl turns out to be a "Good German" - he acknowledges that he was wrong about Mrs. Stern and advises her to leave the country after he releases her from prison.

Karl, likely a decent enough criminal policeman with an eye for detail, is utterly outclassed when interrogating one of the 20^th Century's intellectual giants. Over and over, Kurt accuses; Hannah refutes. She's not writing in code; she's writing in Greek. She doesn't know so-and-so; oh, is that who that man is? He's a Zionist? I had no idea! Yes, my husband has left the country, but I don't want to live somewhere else. I'd have to learn another language, and lose the poetry, philosophy, music that make me feel German. Credibly enough, over the course of the 90 minutes of the play -- 8 days in her real life - Hannah convinces Karl that she is innocent of any charges.

The drama inherent in any work about Nazi Germany, especially one concerning an imprisoned Jew and a German officer, would have been better served had director Ari Laura Kreith used a more leisurely pace to bring to life. Were there time for Mrs. Stern's beautiful, expressive hands to reflect her emotions rather than what looked like TV gestures, or had Kurt had something like the careful, clipped diction of a German officer, there might have been more engagement in the drama. As it is, it's hard to see them interact intensely in this most intense of situations; they're fine, but not better than fine. For instance, Karl's change of heart from accusing officer to liberator is barely credible, as is the implicit flirtation between Karl and Hannah.

Ella Dershowitz, Drew Hirshfield (Photo: Stephanie Gamba)

In the small role of Erich, Mrs. Stern's would-be lawyer, Drew Hirshfield gives a clear, straightforward performance as her misguided, confident, self appointed savior. Costumes from Deborah Caney are excellent; Cameron Filepas offers evocative lighting for Lauren Helpern's excellent set.

Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library almost, but not quite, works as a cautionary tale, as a character study, as an exploration of what happens as a society breaks down. As satisfying as it is to see this piece of history brought to life on stage, it's not quite good enough to be emotionally wrenching.

 

Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library

At the WP Theatre-McGinn/Cazale

2162 Broadway

Tickets: https://ci.ovationtix.com/34655/production/1222230

Through January 19