Playing For Time
I wasn't ready for what I saw tonight.
I went to the play knowing it was about women who survived the Holocaust by playing music in Auschwitz. However I hadn't spoken in detail to anyone about the show- so I went in with a completely blank slate. I'd never seen nor read the play, I knew nothing of the set design or other technical details, nor did I know anything about the acting/directing of the show. I feel like I should have been better prepared- Cap always seems to do a good job picking works that are moving. And I was moved by this show.
There isn't much I can do to describe why exactly tears filled my eyes tonight, execpt to say that these actors, this set, and those sounds all brought Fanias and the other womens stories to life for me. I wouldn't say that the show was the best acted I've seen, even at FSC, nor would I say it's the worst acted I've seen, again even at FSC however some of the performances stuck out. Kay successfully scared me as Nazi, and although not her best performance ever Lindsay's two-sidedness was striking (no surprises there). And then there was Fania, played by Katie. I've never seen her in anything before and therefore have basis for comparision, but I was impressed. Her character was strong, and so was she; and by the end when her character began to crumble under the pressures of the Nazi's, I too crumbled with her.
This show presents to it's audience disturbing scenes of women who questioned whether or not surviving the Holocaust was even worth it for them. It illuminated for it's viewers just how desperate these inprisioned women had become- desperate enough to steal, desperate enough to sell their bodies for measily bits of food or drops of alcohol, desperate enough to turn on the only things they have left- each other. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be in such a place. Would I be strong enough, have enough will to live to make it out? Probably not. And that's why this show is so moving, Fania did have that strength within herself to survive and even to keep detailed records of the happeneings around her so that when it was all over she could tell the world her story. We've all heard the story of Ann Frank, but there are so many other stories out there that are just as powerful and moving that we don't hear.... so many other stories.