NEW YORK - Address Unknown at The Town Hall.The Cherry Orchard Festival presented the splendid New York stage play premiere of the powerful story Address Unknown, based on Kathrine Kressmann Taylor's eponymous novel, first published in 1938. A full house attended this poignant production in the plush, sumptuous Town Hall theater. The cast skillfully portrayed just one of the millions of heartbreaking, compelling stories of friendship, love, tragedy, and betrayal during the years of Hitler's Nazi Germany.LettersLike the novel, the play's structure was epistolary, crafted in the form of letters between two German emigres, friends, and business partners in San Francisco: Max Eisenstein (Evgeny Kissin), a Jewish art dealer, and Martin Schulse (Thomas Hampson), who returns to Germany as Hitler and the Nazis are rising to power. Marvelously curated lighting, staging, and music added to the richness and presence of the narrative.Gaudemus IgiturThe production began with the joyful strains of Gaudemus Igitur (Let's Be Happy While We're Young), the reflective, insightful academic anthem of hope. Gershwin's oeuvre was subsequently ubiquitous throughout the evening, due perhaps to a foreboding and prescience that subtly hints at the evolving social landscapes of 20th-century culture. Did not Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung predict "the Nazi eruption?" Evgeny Kissin in a scene from The Cherry Orchard Festival's production of Address Unknown at The Town Hall. Photo by Michelle Tabnick, P.R.Human Costs of InactionThe story opens with Max and Martin collaborating on their prosperous art gallery partnership. The center stage contained a metaphoric, backlit screen representing written correspondence akin to the constructs of Taylor's novel. The austerity of the setting—a series of letters read on stage—engendered a focus on articulate, well-crafted dialogue and themes of moral integrity, responsibility, and the human costs of inaction. The scene highlighted the impact of personal choices within sweeping historical eras.Ideological ExtremismTragically, Eisenstein's beautiful younger sister Griselle (Karina Arzumanova) remained in Germany to pursue an acting career. Griselle's innocent character and subsequent tragic demise leveraged a powerful emotive experience. Her story underscored the stakes in the breakdown of the relationship between Max and Martin and served as a stark reminder of the human costs of ideological extremism. Griselle's tale enriched the narrative with an abstruse depiction of the consequences of societal and personal choices during a terror regime. Thomas Hampson in a scene from The Cherry Orchard Festival production of Address Unknown at The Town Hall. Photo by Michelle Tabnick, P.R.Gravid, Pained SilenceThe cast adeptly projected Taylor's commanding, compact work, bringing its themes to the forefront in a visceral, physical space. They chillingly reached out from the past to resonate in tonight's contemporary milieu. This dimension deeply personalized the narrative, sanctioning viewers to feel and see the evolution of thoughts and ideologies firsthand. Griselle’s presence in Germany and her vulnerability as a Jewish woman highlighted the personal stakes involved in the correspondence between Max and Martin. As Max read out loud a letter from Martin, as he reported Giselle’s death at the hands of the Nazis, listeners gasped and sighed in the theater's gravid, pained silence.Betrayal and Stark TransformationAs Martin came to enjoy the fruits of Nazi party membership while justifying the anti-Jewish sentiment and book burning of the day, his personal betrayal of Max and stark personal transformation provided profound emotional agency for the audience, serving as a compelling narrative that challenged onlookers to consider their own values and decisions. One was drawn to consider the dangers of unchecked power and the significance of standing up against tyranny and tackling moral dilemmas under authoritarian regimes. Karina Arzumanova and Thomas Hampson in a scene from The Cherry Orchard Festival's production of Address Unknown at The Town Hall. Photo by Michelle Tabnick, P.R.Historical Reflection and RelevanceIn an era where extremist ideologies and xenophobia are still prevalent, the play served as a blatant aide-mémoire of the consequences of demagoguery and hatred. It echoed the warning signs of societal shifts towards autocracy and the ease with which human relationships are corrupted by supremacy and terror.Bravo! Evgeny Kissin and Thomas Hampson in a scene from The Cherry Orchard Festival's production of Address Unknown at The Town Hall. Photo by Michelle Tabnick, P.R.ADDRESS UNKNOWN at The Town HallDirected by Marianna ArzumanovaBased on the short novel by Kathrine Kressmann TaylorThe cast of Address UnknownEvgeny Kissin as Max EisensteinThomas Hampson as Martin SchulseKarina Arzumanova as Griselle and Martin's wifeThe Town Hall123 W 43rd StreetNew York, NY 10036Click HERE for The Town Hall tickets and events.The Cherry Orchard Festival60 Riverside Blvd., Suite 1612., New York, NY 10069 Phone/Fax:800.349.0021 — [email protected] HERE for The Cherry Orchard tickets and events.Readers may also enjoy our reviews of The Moth Project, The Who's Tommy, Aftershocks, Witchland, Stalker, Grief Hotel, The Notebook on Broadway, My Beatnik Youth: A Solo Riff, My Mother Had Two Faces, and Before the Drugs Kick In.https://youtu.be/a1h54sLQxIY?si=pCq_1igS5hf2vmnE
