Theater Review - Way to Heaven

Way to Heaven (Himmelweg)

written by Juan Mayorga (translated by David Johnston)

Directed by Matthew Earnest

Where: Hartshorn Theater in Hartshorn Hall

(University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware)

In their final play to premiere this season, the University of Delaware's Resident Ensemble Players (REP) and Professional Theater Training Program (PTTP) present Way to Heaven, a rather gripping Rashomon-esque depiction of a particular concentration camp in 1944 Theresienstadt, emphasizing that the "way things appear" is really only a matter of perspective.  Delving even deeper, writer Juan Mayorga seems to want us to recognize that many times life itself is simply a theatrical production with our friends and neighbors putting on a show to either impress others or create a more pleasing façade.

The stark scenic design by director Matthew Earnest (who also appears to have directed the currently running production of this very play Off-Broadway in NYC) immediately gives off an air of uneasiness as soon as one walks into Hartshorn Hall.  [It just dawned on me that the multitude of dead leaves strewn about are perhaps representative of the millions of Jews who died during the Holocaust...and this realization has kind of shaken me up a bit.]  And that uncomfortable feeling doesn't end during the play's first scene, a nearly thirty minute monologue by a Red Cross Representative who visited Theresienstadt and ended up writing a report that said things appeared adequate.  Presented with images of singing children and bickering young couples, Theresienstadt seemed to be devoid of all one would associate with a typical Holocaust concentration camp.  As the play continues through its remaining four scenes, the true nature of the camp is revealed as we see the story play out through the eyes of Jewish actors chosen to depict those aforementioned children and young couples, the Nazi Commandant, and Gershom Gottfried, a Jewish man chosen to "direct" the "scenes" played out for the Red Cross Representative.  

In a play with very little else to hold our attention visually other than the actors themselves (and that's not meant to be a criticism at all), it falls on the company's shoulders to maintain the audience's interest and they don't disappoint.  Right out of the gate, soon-to-be graduating PTTP member Matthew Simpson takes a lengthy monologue and makes it fly by, completely taking command of the stage and really setting the tone for the whole evening.  The play's final scene finds Simpson's fellow PTTP member Andy Nagraj as Gershom Gottfried providing possibly the most emotional moment in Mayorga's work.  The heartbreaking moment comes on the heels of two scenes featuring the only REP member of the cast Mic Matarrese as the smarmy Nazi Commandant, a rather conceited, yet eerily charismatic man who thinks rather fondly of himself and his mission to "fool" the American Red Cross Representative.  This is perhaps the best work I've seen from Matarrese who oftentimes gets placed in the secondary roles within the company, but here gets a real chance to shine.  Granted, the play itself runs a tad long in scene four, but to Matarrese's credit, he is able to maintain the audience's attention.

With the large amount of press going to the REP's worldwide premiere of O Beautiful (the production of which I have not yet seen), Way to Heaven seems to be the under-represented and less loved stepchild of the repertory company's final set of shows to round out their 2010-11 season (the "Jan" to O Beautiful's "Marcia," if one likes their references in Brady Bunch terminology).  It appears that seats are still available for the final four Way to Heaven shows and I'd strongly recommend seeking it out.