New play about Stalin's 1952 Final Solution murder of all Jewish literary figures; stars Hal Linden

[uhnope]

It was largely forgotten history before this play, the day in 1952 when Stalin suddenly decided to murder all the eminent Jewish literati of Russia.

It reminds me of the Putin apologists, defender of Gaddafi and other extremists around now, the people who consider themselves progressive but defend dictatorships instead of admitting there is something very, very wrong happening. From the program:

And we know that a small number of people in the West knew the actual facts. But many of the members of the secular Yiddish-speaking world in America in the first part of the 20th century were on the far, far left and were essentially Communist, either in sympathy or in fact, and so they had to make really hard decisions about whether to tell the truth about what happened and risk acknowledging that Stalin was a monster and the whole Soviet system
was corrupt. Many of them decided it was better to hold onto this fantasy of a perfect Communist society, and
for their own political reasons keep that alive, rather than admit that Stalin had persecuted these writers for being Jews.

http://www.theoldglobe.org/_pdf/Programs/2014-15/The_Twenty_seventh_Man_Full.pdf

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2015/mar/04/theater-old-globe-stages-27th-man/#

Although he allegedly championed Soviet Jews, even created the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee during World War II, in 1948 Stalin arrested 13 members of the JAC and accused them of “counter-revolutionary crimes.” Among them were poets, journalists, novelists, editors, and teachers. The head of the committee, Solomon Mikhoels, was not among them. The actor/director, famous for his Yiddish King Lear, was hit by a car earlier in 1948. His body lay face down in the snow — with nary a tire track nearby.

Before the trial began in 1952, at least four Soviet Jewish writers and intellectuals died in labor camps, prisons, or firing squads.

The Old Globe presents the West Coast Premiere of The Twenty-seventh Man by award-winning novelist Nathan Englander, directed by Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein.

In a Soviet prison in 1952, Stalin’s secret police have rounded up 26 writers, the giants of Yiddish literature in Russia. As judgment looms, a 27th suddenly appears: a teenager, unpublished and unknown. Baffled by his arrest, he and his cellmates wonder at what has brought them together and wrestle with what it means to write in troubled times. Time Out New York called The Twenty-seventh Man “exquisite - as chilling and haunted as a ghost story.” With The Twenty-seventh Man, Edelstein returns to the Englander play he premiered in New York and reimagines it for the Globe’s intimate in-the-round space, bringing us larger-than-life personalities and an unforgettable reminder of the transcendent power of storytelling.

CAST: Lowell Byers (Guard), Robert Dorfman (Vasily Korinsky), Eli Gelb (Pinchas Pelovitz), Hal Linden (Yevgeny Zunser), Ron Orbach (Moishe Bretzky), James Shanklin (Agent in Charge)

CREATIVE TEAM: Michael McGarty (Scenic Design), Katherine Roth (Costume Design), Russell H. Champa (Lighting Design), Darron L West (Sound Design), Caparelliotis Casting (Casting), and Anjee Nero (Stage Manager)

[Joe Johns]

1. And then there was "The Doctors' Plot"

Stalin has been let off WAY too easily by history on the issue of anti-semitism.

[awoke_in_2003]

3. Welcome to DU...

very true, but he killed so many people it is hard to keep up.

[Joe Johns]

4. Thanks for the welcome

And you're right. In fact, he never got to carry out the pogrom he was planning against the Jews he wanted to via "The Doctors' Plot," thank the gods. But Mr Dzhugashvili had much more people in general murdered under his regime than Hitler had in his. Twin freakin' psychopaths!

[RBInMaine]

2. Linden was GREAT as Barney Miller. His actual JEWISH name is Bernard Lipschitz.

[delete_bush]

5. Just returned from seeing the play

at the Old Globe here in San Diego. There are 3 venues at the Old Globe - this played at my favorite, which is a 250-seat, intimate theatre in the round. We've been season ticket holders since this particular theater opened, so even more fortunate our seats are front row. Ground floor, 3 feet to the stage. One of the most incredible theater experiences around.

THIS was a very powerful play, extremely well acted (except for the actor portraying the part of the 27th man, not quite as good as I thought he should be). An added benefit, to one who was a frequent watcher of Barney Miller, it was great to see Hal Linden up close and personal - he has aged well and his performance was stellar.