‘Twenty- Seventh Man’ thought- provoking gem

 

By David Amos

David Amos
David Amos

SAN DIEGO — There are plays that entertain, others that instruct, and  others that inspire.  Many are combinations of all of the above. These are the ones that point to times in history when horrible mistakes have been made. They enlighten us, and possibly plant the seeds of preventing these events from repeating themselves.

This is where I felt was the greatest contribution of The Twenty-Seventh Man. It is a dramatized version of what happened in 1952. Three men are in a Soviet prison, at the orders of Joseph Stalin.  They discover that they are a part of a group of 26 Russian Yiddish writers, playwrights and poets who were rounded up overnight. A young man joins them; although he was not a recognized, respected, and published writer, he was passionate about putting his thoughts and words to paper, and was obviously considered ideologically part of the same group. They discuss their lust for writing as well as their puzzlement for suddenly being imprisoned and condemned to death. After all, up to that time they enjoyed a life of popularity, artistic freedom and personal comfort.

Ironically, Stalin had showcased these artists in past times, their works, and their contributions to the Soviet System he envisioned.  He even sent some of them abroad to promote freedom of expression in Mother Russia, and founded the Moscow State Yiddish Theater, along with other Yiddish theaters, schools, newspapers and publishing houses.  All of course, to promote Communist concepts and ideals.

With the outbreak of World War II, and the Nazi invasion of Russia, Stalin recruited the Jewish creative minds to serve the war effort. He created a Jewish Anti-Facist Committee (JAC) to encourage Jewish people worldwide to sympathize and help Russia against its invaders.

But, as is the tendency of dictators, he had a paranoic and radical reversal in his strategy. After the war, the need to neutralize Facism became unnecessary and he saw the growth of Jewish cultural awareness and the rise of Zionism for a national homeland as a strong force. He decided that so much liberty of expression to his Jewish population were not going according to his plans. The Jews became in his mind a political liability, and he abruptly ordered the execution of these men, only one year before he died.

The play, superbly written, acted, and directed, is a raw depiction of the evil intricacies of the Stalinist-Soviet system and the coercion of artists, (and let’s not forget athletes) to serve the doctrine. And, be sure to add to the recipe a large amount of anti-Semitism.

I am reminded of other forms of artistic expressions that revealed depictions of war and historical vacuums of injustice. Some film examples are Judgment at Nurenberg, Everything is Illuminated, and countless others. In poetry, people knew about Babi Yar, but were silent. After they read Yevtushenko’s poem, the silence was broken. In art, Picasso gave us Guernica. In music, there are also many examples: Schoenberg’s Survivor from Warsaw, Rosner’s  From the Diaries of Adam Czerniakow.  In literature, again, a gaggle of examples, the greatest of which could be War and Peace.

The great Russian Classical composer Dimitri Shostakovitch, (1906-75),  a staunch supporter of Jewish creativity, wrote the following: “It would be good if Jews would live peacefully and happily in Russia, where they were born. But we must never forget about the dangers of anti-Semitism and keep reminding others of it, because the infection is still alive, and who knows if it will ever disappear.  This is the power of arts.”

And, if we were to sum-up all of this composer’s thoughts on this subject, these are his three words that say it all: art destroys silence.

I highly recommend that you see The Twenty-Seventh Man. It was written by Nathan Englander, as a theatrical adaptation of his book. He has been involved with various writings of Jewish relevance, including the translation of The New American Haggadah. His insights into the creation of 27th Man are sharply focused and showed a vast understanding of the subject at hand (As an aside, during my various musical travels into cities with orchestras that at times only a few months before were part of the Soviet system, I related to many comments I personally heard from musicians and administrators. It is hard to understand the oppression and limitations that were placed on members of the creative society, and on an ongoing everyday basis, which made life most difficult. Ask me about this sometime).

The director was the Old Globe’s own Artistic Director, Barry Edelstein. He is also a producer, author and educator, and is widely recognized as one of the leading authorities on the works of Shakespeare in the United States. He also directed Nathan Englander’s  world premiere of The Twenty-Seventh Man at the Public Theater in New York.

The acting was nothing short of extraordinary. Robert Dorfman portrayed Vasily Korinsky, Hal Linden (the one most of us would recognize) was Yevgenyy Zunser, Ron Orbach was Moishe Bretzky, and as the young man, Eli Gelb was Pinchas Pelovits. Linden also gave us a tender version of a Yiddish song near the conclusion of the play.

The Old Globe will present The Twenty-Seventh Man at the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre until March 22. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased on line at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

History and truth will be preserved by the Arts.  Don’t miss it.

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Amos is conductor of the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra and professional orchestras around the globe, and also is a freelance writer whose specialty is the dramatic arts. Your signed comment may be posted in the space provided below or sent to david.amos@sdjewishworld.com