One of the most original and darkly satirical theatre voices of the 20th century, George Tabori, will be jolted back to life when the director Manfred Bormann, and the actor GW Reed bring his "Mein Kampf" and "Jubilee" back to the stage. Performed in rep under the rubric "Two by Tabori" these two mischievously funny black farces are presented at Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, in an exclusive three-week engagement from Thursday May 4 to Sunday May 21.
"Two by Tabori" will reacquaint us with the Hungarian-born émigré who focused in much of his writing (novels, plays and Hollywood scripts) on the folly of war and the refugee experience. "Mein Kampf" imagines a young Adolf Hitler as a gawky art student kicking around dejectedly until he meets a Jewish Bible salesman, who, in a stroke of genius, suggests he get into politics. In the rarely seen "Jubilee" a neo-Nazi youth goes about defacing Jewish headstones until he is visited by a Jewish family and a gay couple who find deliciously sinister ways to goad the lunk to move on. (These plays are particularly timely for their haunting evocations of the folly of war and the dangerously childish neurotics who usually start them.)
"Mein Kampf" (first produced in Vienna in 1987) performs nine times, while "Jubilee" (first produced in Bochum, Germany in 1983) will have a total of 7 performances. Both are directed by Manfred Bormann, and both feature the actor GW Reed.
The company of 9 includes:
Jeff Burchfield*; Jon Freda*;
Andrea Lynn Green*; Cordis Heard*; Omri Kadim; David Knowle; Miller Lide*; DerRick Peterson*; G.W. Reed* (All of these actors, with the exception of Freda and Kadim, have roles in both plays. Jon Freda is Herzl in "Mein Kampf" and Omri Kadim plays Hitler in "Mein Kampf.") * Appear courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.
After leaving Nazi Germany in 1935 to join his brother in London, and leaving behind his parents in Hungary (his father perished in Auschwitz; his mother escaped), Tabori led a peripatetic life. He lived and worked in many places including New York, LA, London, Vienna and Berlin. Most of his writing was in English, including all of his plays. Those that premiered in German in cities like Berlin and Vienna, where he was widely known, were translated into German before they were performed.
His plays "The Cannibals" and "Pinkville" were produced by Wynn Handman at the American Place Theatre, in the late '60s and early '70s. Elia Kazan directed his "Flight to Egypt." He also compiled the scenes from the seminal project "Brecht on Brecht," which included Lotte Lenya, Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, and Viveca Lindfors, his wife at the time. Among his screenplays is "I Confess" directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
"Two by Tabori" -- consisting of "Mein Kampf and "Jubilee" -- performs from Thursday May 4 to Sunday May 21 at Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue (between 9th & 10th Streets). "Mein Kampf" performances are Thur/Fri May 4, 5 at 8pm; Sat May 6 at 3pm & 8pm; Sun May 14 at 3pm; Tues to Fri May 16, 17, 18, 19 at 8pm. "Jubilee" is on Wed to Sat May 10, 11, 12, 13 at 8pm; Sat May 20 at 3pm & 8pm, and Sun May 21 at 3pm. For tickets, which are $18, call SmartTix at 212/868-4444, visit www.smarttix.com, or visit www.theaterforthenewcity.net.
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