Finding Her Roots

The Berlin Diaries

With the popularity of  television shows like “Who Do You Think You Are” and “Finding Your Roots,” researching one’s genealogy has seen a recent rise in popularity. It seems like almost everyone is devoting their spare time to investigating their family history. Discovering descendants through online sources, such as ancestry.com., or poring through volumes of old census records in the library, help jumpstart one’s investigation of their family lines. Through birth, marriage and death records, military and immigration documents and newly discovered personal journals and diaries, a diligent individual can often discover more about members of their family tree.

Three-time Oregon Book Award-winning playwright Andrea Stolowitz’s autobiographical drama traces her own personal quest to learn about her Jewish family. When Andrea receives a diary written by her late great-grandfather her curiosity is sparked to learn more about her descendants and find her roots. Her great-grandfather, she learns, lived in Berlin, Germany, just prior to the outbreak of WWII. But fortunately he escaped the terrorism of the Nazis and the Holocaust by immigrating to New York City in 1939. 

Up until now, Andrea and her parents never thought that their background was very interesting or particularly noteworthy. But when the writer is commissioned to turn the journal into a play she suddenly notices there are big holes in her family history. Questions are raised about her genealogy that her great-grandfather’s diary doesn’t answer. So Andrea decides to travel to Germany in order to research the missing links in her background. There, through diligent investigation, she gradually discovers some startling information that provides Andrea with enlightenment and a deeper connection to her family.

Ms. Stolowitz’s play is fascinating and very creative. But its creativity is the element that leaves the audience confused and confounded. The script is definitely a challenge for its two actors. Eliana Deckner-Glick, a recent graduate of The Theatre School, and Artem Kreimer, last seen in Open Space Arts’ production of MERCY KILLING, play all the roles. Now, that’s not necessarily a new dramatic concept. But the confusion for the audience comes when the playwright suddenly has the two actors trade roles within a scene, often mid-conversation.

In one scene, Andrea, nicely portrayed by Ms. Deckner-Glick, might be talking with her mother about their family tree, humorously played by Mr. Kreimer. Suddenly the two actors switch roles. Then, within a sentence, they revert back again to their original parts, and then back again. What’s going on? For about a quarter of this 90-minute one-act, I had no idea, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in the audience who was baffled. But, more to the point, I didn’t understand why the playwright employed this gimmick. 

On the positive side, this production has a truly talented guest Director at its helm to provide his vision and to guide his actors. Izadorius Tortuga makes his Chicago Directing debut and, based on his intelligent and dynamic concept for bringing this script to life, I look forward to seeing more from this young man. Staging the production in Open Space Arts’ modest venue actually works well for this intimate story. A sparse Scenic Design by Viscaya Wilson makes use of every square inch of the tiny, 20-seat theater. Even the concrete steps that lead from the street into the venue, as well as a huge metal pole that supports the ceiling, become part of the set and are cleverly integrated into Mr. Tortuga’s staging. And, as Andrea’s family history/mystery slowly unfolds, sections of her massive family tree, scrawled on the upstage wall, are ripped away by the actors revealing new information.

Both Eliana Deckner-Glick, as Andrea and others, and Artem Kreimer, as Max and others, are excellent. Artem showed his versatility in MERCY KILLING, when he portrayed several different characters, but this play really challenges the actor. And, if nothing else, these two talents have mastered an incredible amount of detailed dialogue, often delivered at a rapid pace. They’ve also each created dozens of strong characterizations, of either gender, that seamlessly morph into each other at the drop of a hat. 

THE BERLIN DIARIES is an interesting and creative work. It takes the popularity of television shows like “Who Do You Think You Are” and makes it personal. Andrea Stolowitz’s family story about finding her Jewish roots is certainly worth telling, but a shorter script might be more digestible for most theatergoers. At 90 uninterrupted minutes, the play overwhelms its audience with a lot of material. There’s so many names, locales and detailed historical information that the audience needs to absorb that after a while I noticed some patrons just sitting back and tuning out. And the confusion provided by the actors trading characters, while an interesting acting exercise, is far more puzzling than clever when it’s part of a play.  

Somewhat Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented December 20-January 5 by Open Space Arts/Arts Judaica in association with Her Story Theater, 1411 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago.

Tickets are available at the door or by going to their website, www.openspacearts.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.