By Ed Lowe
Senior Writer
Victory Gardens premiered the new play by Jeffrey Sweet titled "Berlin '45" on March 28. Directed by Calvin MacLean, the show features Tandy Cronyn as Ilse and Roderick Peeples as Gregor.
In the moment at which the Russian army finally captured Berlin in 1945 amid the chaos of the toppling of Hitler's empire, any pretext of civilization was lost in the rubble that was once Berlin. Ilse, a production assistant for a once-popular dance ensemble, moves into the still-standing home of the impresario of the ballet company with two other women. The need for food drives the women to fraternization with Russian troops and all that relationship entails.
Essentially, the story is one of survival and the lengths to which people will go for it. She meets a Russian officer -- a political officer played by Gary Houston, and ultimately is introduced to a Russian Colonel (Peeples) who is an engineer assigned to the dismantling of German factories and their transportation to the Soviet Union. Peeples' Gregor is the subject of constant surveillance by Houston because he has not shown his "loyalty" to the regime and was once sent to a labor camp only to be released when the pragmatic Russians decided they needed his services.
Gregor is by far the most interesting character Sweet has created and Peeples does the most with it. His idealism is tarnished by the reality of the brutal Stalinist administration, yet he still hopes for the social promise of the original Russian revolution. Ilse, meanwhile, enters a liaison with the political officer only to be ultimately turned over to the Colonel, who is attracted to a dancer wannabe, delicately portrayed by Melissa Carlson.
Cronyn carries the play, being on stage for virtually the entire two hours. Her character provides a link between the mass of German people who have been able to survive the destruction of Berlin and the future rebuilding of the German nation. It's difficult to develop any sympathetic understanding of German suffering because of the misery that these people inflicted on the rest of the world.
Yet this is a matter of survival on the one hand and principles on the other. The play can be faulted for its sometimes preachy and stilted language. But Sweet makes every effort to get his point across and, on balance, he is successful. The show will continue at Victory Gardens through May 1. Tickets are available through Ticketweb.com or by calling the box office at (773) 871-3000.
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