Murray Abraham as Nathan photos by Richard Termine   

 

                   by Deirdre Donovan

 

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s Nathan the Wise is not a play to pass quick judgment on.  At first blush it might seem the dramatic equivalent of watching paint dry.  But those audience members who stay for the entire 2-hour production at the Classic Stage Company (CSC) will be rewarded with some surprising insights into religion, religious toleration, and the enduring truths of the human heart.

 

Before giving an overview of the story, a few words on the play’s genre, genesis, and unique narrative arc.  Lessing himself considered Nathan the Wise a “dramatic poem” and wrote it in verse during a long gestation period.  Although several translators over the years have taken creative license and morphed the original German verse into prose (including Edward Kemp, whose prose translation is used in the current CSC production), the playwright’s poetic impulse remarkably remains intact even in its prosaic translations.  The play also has a Prologue that is self-consciously literary, with the actor playing Saladin (Austin Durant) serving as de facto Narrator in it.  Things go topsy-turvy, however, when an argument breaks out among the principals over who is the most qualified to recount Nathan’s story.  And, before you can say “amen,” the actor playing Nathan himself (F. Murray Abraham) boldly steps forward and confidently claims the narrator’s role. 

 

With no further ado, the Prologue melts into the play proper.  Set in Jerusalem circa 1192, it centers on the ruling Sultan’s probing question to the devout Jewish merchant Nathan: “Which religion is the one most beloved by God?”  But instead of replying in a straightforward manner, Nathan tells an intriguing parable involving a father who bequeaths 3 rings to his 3 sons in his will.  Brilliantly the pious merchant Nathan lives up to his title in the play.  He is a paragon among men, and is able to penetrate to the heart of the parable, and lucidly explain its mysterious truth to others.

 

F. Murray Abraham as Nathan and Erin Neufer as Rachel

 

There’s also a romantic sub-plot interwoven into the play.  During Nathan’s travels, his daughter Rachel was rescued from a fire in their home by a Templar living in Jerusalem.  And this Templar will gradually fall in love with Rachel, much to her adoring father’s chagrin.  What’s more, their budding romance will vividly point up the problems young lovers inevitably confront when each is from a different religious background.  Expect lots of ironic twists—and confessions--in this play that involves Muslims, Christians, and Jews, who all have their secrets and painful memories of the past.

 

Stark Sands as Templar and F. Murray Abraham as Nathan

 

The nine-member acting ensemble are competent.  But the standout performance here is turned in by Abraham, playing the titular character.  Abraham never overplays his role but rightly trusts that Lessing’s poetic language will work its quiet power.  And it does.  It’s no accident that Abraham looks quite at home playing the Jewish protagonist.  Abraham, in fact, is an old hand at impersonating Jewish characters.  He played Shakespeare’s moneylender Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and Marlowe’s even darker villain Barabas in The Jew of Malta, in repertory at the Duke Theater in 2007 (under the auspices of Theater for a New Audience).  And though Nathan is cut from a different spiritual cloth than the aforementioned characters, there is no question that Abraham inhabits him with canniness—and a preternatural air.

 

Austin Durant as Saladin and Shiva Kalaiselvan as Sittah

 

The creative team does their job with mixed results.  Tony Straiges’ set design evokes Jerusalem circa 1192 with photographic realism.  Joe Novak’s monochromatic lighting design, though it ensures that the principals are in plain view, lacks subtlety and seems rather flat at times.  Happily, Anita Yavich’s eclectic costumes are more on target.  The actors begin in modern dress but as they insinuate themselves into their respective dramatic characters, don the traditional robes with a natural grace.

 

Wisely, Artistic Director Brian Kulick doesn’t gild the lily in his mounting of Lessing’s play.  Kulick stages it in an extremely pristine manner, remaining faithful to the playwright’s original conceit.  True, this production won’t appeal to everybody.  Kulick, in fact, cited in the CSC’s current newsletter that Lessing is less-known to Americans than the “extraordinary convocation of German playwrights including Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, and Buchner.”  Even so, Kulick stresses that Lessing was a literary “phenomenon” and true pioneer of theater in his day, and that the more celebrated German playwrights are much “indebted” to his dramatic oeuvre.

 

If you are on the fence on whether to go to see Nathan the Wise, take a leap of faith—and head down to the East Village venue where it will be staged through May 1^st.  This play, like wine of a good vintage year, should be savored for its rare flavor.  It teaches that religious truth is not a game of one-upmanship—and that toleration of your neighbor’s faith is a basic key to living in harmony in the world.

 

Through May 1^st.

At the Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13^th Street, Manhattan

For tickets, call (212) 352-3101, or visit the theatre in person during box office hours, or go to www.classicstage.org.

Running time:  2 hours with one intermission.