Berkeley Rep to Launch Talkback Series in Conjunction With HERE THERE ARE BLUEBERRIES

Berkeley Repertory Theatre will launch a talkback series that will be presented in conjunction with Tectonic Theater Project’s production of Here There Are Blueberries, performing a limited engagement at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre from Saturday, April 5 through Sunday, May 11, 2025. Presented in partnership with the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics—the production’s Content & Conversation partner—this post-show series will feature leading ethicists and scholars exploring the complex issues raised in the play and reflecting on their relevance in today’s world. All talkbacks are free to attend with the purchase of a theatre ticket. 
 
Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE) provides a unique historical lens to study contemporary ethics. Each year, FASPEawards 80-90 fellowships to graduate students in business, clergy, journalism, law, medicine, and design & technology. Fellows spend 2 weeks in Germany and Poland, visiting Auschwitz and key sites, where they examine the roles their counterparts played in Nazi Germany and explore the ethical issues in their fields today. FASPE was piloted in 2009 and has over 900 Alumni across the globe. FASPE has been a content and conversation partner to the Tectonic artistic team throughout the development of Here There Are Blueberries providing historical context and curating engagement events for audiences.
 
The complete talkback series schedule is as follows:
 

Saturday, April 19 (following the 2 p.m. performance)

The Transformation of Norms and Complicity as the New Normal

The play opens a window into the norms of Nazi perpetrators and complicit professionals. In the 1930s and 1940s, German society experienced a gradual, comprehensive, ever-accelerating transformation of its system of ethical and moral values among doctors, lawyers, accountants, and more. Their role is central to the play, and raises pressing questions about contemporary professional ethics.
 
Panelist: Sonner Kehrt, Investigative Reporter, The War Horse News, 2017 Journalism Fellow, FASPE; and David Goldman, Chair, FASPE
 

Saturday, April 19 (following the 8 p.m. performance)

The Next Generation: How Do We Deal with the Sins of Our Fathers?

How can seemingly normal people commit horrific acts during weekdays and enjoy family and professional relaxation on weekends? Can evil be compartmentalized? Could the Kommandant of Auschwitz have been a good father to his children—who lived in a comfortable villa a short distance from their father’s office at Auschwitz?

Panelists: Andrew M. Davis, Ph.D.,  Program Director, The Center for Process Studies, Scott Barrow, Actor (Karl Höcker and Others), Here There Are Blueberries; and David Goldman, Chair, FASPE
 

Sunday, April 20 (following the 2 p.m. performance)

Mengele at Auschwitz

Josef Mengele is perhaps the most recognizable figure among the many photographs that make up the album which is at the center of Here There are Blueberries. Made famous by his portrayal in movies, novels, and plays, Dr. Josef Mengele has emerged as a grotesque caricature that threatens to obscure the frightening man that he was. Join the author of Mengele: Unmasking the Angel of Death in conversation with Sonner Kehrt as they discuss the man behind the myth.
 
Panelists: Sonner Kehrt, Investigative Reporter, The War Horse News, 2017 Journalism Fellow, FASPE; and David G. Marwell, Ph.D., author of Mengele: Unmasking the Angel of Death, FASPE Board Member
 

Sunday, April 20 (following the 7 p.m. performance)
The Transformation of Norms and Complicity as the New Normal

The play opens a window into the norms of Nazi perpetrators and complicit professionals. In the 1930s and 1940s, German society experienced a gradual, comprehensive, ever-accelerating transformation of its system of ethical and moral values among doctors, lawyers, accountants, and more. Their role is central to the play, and raises pressing questions about contemporary professional ethics.
 
Panelists: David Goldman, Chair, FASPE, and Bella Ryb, Ph.D. Student, Stanford Program in Modern Thought Literature, 2022 Law Fellow, FASPE
 

Tuesday, April 22 (following the 7 p.m. performance)
Why Continue to Study the Holocaust?

Auschwitz was liberated 80 years ago; we have seen genocides since 1945. Why do we continue to study the Holocaust; why does the Holocaust remain so much a part of contemporary pedagogy, literature, ethics and more? What is the role of Holocaust study in a post-survivor world?
 
Panelists: David Goldman, Chair, FASPE; David G. Marwell, Ph.D., author of Mengele: Unmasking the Angel of Death, FASPE Board Member; and Franciska Obermeyer, Deputy Consul General, the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, San Francisco
 

Wednesday, April 23 (following the 7 p.m. performance)
Mengele at Auschwitz

Josef Mengele is perhaps the most recognizable figure among the many photographs that make up the album which is at the center of Here There are Blueberries. Made famous by his portrayal in movies, novels, and plays, Dr. Josef Mengele has emerged as a grotesque caricature that threatens to obscure the frightening man that he was. Join the author of Mengele: Unmasking the Angel of Death in conversation with Sonner Kehrt as they discuss the man behind the myth.
 
Panelists: David Goldman, Chair, FASPE; David G. Marwell, Ph.D., author of Mengele: Unmasking the Angel of Death, FASPE Board Member
 

About Here There Are Blueberries

In 2007, a mysterious album featuring Nazi-era photographs arrived at the desk of a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum archivist. As curators unraveled the shocking truth behind the images, the album soon made headlines and ignited a debate that reverberated far beyond the museum walls. Based on real events, Here There Are Blueberries tells the story of these historical photographs—what they reveal about the perpetrators of the Holocaust, and our own humanity.
 
The world premiere of Here There Are Blueberries was produced in 2022 by La Jolla Playhouse, where it was named one of the Best Plays of 2022 by the Los Angeles Times. The play was awarded the Theater J Trish Vradenburg Jewish Play Prize and was nominated for seven Helen Hayes Awards, winning two for Outstanding Director of a Play (Moisés Kaufman) and Outstanding Media/Projection Design (David Bengali) for its 2023 production at Shakespeare Theatre Company. At New York Theatre Workshop, Here There Are Blueberries was named a 2024 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Drama, was the focus of a top-rated CBS “60 Minutes” segment by Anderson Cooper, and became their highest-grossing production in the 45-year history of the institution. Here There Are Blueberries is presented by special arrangement with Tectonic Theater Project, Brian & Dayna Lee, and Sonia Friedman Productions.
 
The cast of Here There Are Blueberries includes Scott Barrow as Karl Höcker, Barbara Pitts as Judy Cohen, Grant Varjas as Peter Wirths, Nemuna Ceesay as Charlotte Schüzel, Delia Cunningham as Rebecca Erbelding, Luke Forbes as Tilman Taube, Jeanne Sakata as Melita Maschmann, and Marrick Smith as Rainer Höss. Each actor plays a principal role as well as multiple additional characters. Sam Reeder and Anna Shafer serve as understudies.

Directed by Moisés Kaufman, the creative team of Here There Are Blueberries features Tony Award winner Derek McLane (Scenic Design), Tony Award winner Dede Ayite (Costume Design), Tony Award nominee David Lander (Lighting Design), Bobby McElver (Sound Design), Tony Award nominee David Bengali (Projection Design), Ann James (Intimacy Coordinator & Sensitivity Specialist), Amy Marie Seidel (Associate Director, Dramaturg, and Deviser), Stephanie Yankwitt, TBD Casting (Casting), and Jacob Russell (Stage Manager).