Y
YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SINGLES
P S VALENTINE'S DAY PARTY
ROSES TO
THE FIRST
100 LADIES
WEDNESDAY, FEB, 14 5:mn.
YESTERDAY'S LOUNGE
Lost Chances Taint
'Man In Glass Booth'
EDWARD KARAM
Special to The Jewish News
A
rthur Goldman, a Jew
and survivor of the
death camps, has a
The
complex.
Christ
multimillionaire developer at
the heart of Robert Shaw's
The Man in the Glass Booth
has a habit of washing his
hands over a silver bowl, as
priests do at Mass.
He responds to begging let-
ters with money, and
although he talks a lot about
women, it's because he's been
celibate. The ashes of his late
wife, the gentile Matilda, now
rest in an urn, which he
venerates, in his penthouse
apartment in New York. "She
restored me," he says. But
when Goldman reads that
Pope Paul VI has absolved
Jews of guilt in the killing of
Christ, something inside him
snaps. The guilt that every
Jew feels over the Holocaust
— why did I live while the
person next to me died; why
did we go so easily to the gas
chambers? — becomes his
obsession.
Shaw's play, chosen by the
newly formed Jewish Ensem-
ble Theatre for its premier
production at the Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield, goes beyond the
questions of guilt and sur-
vival in the Holocaust (never
forgetting them), and ex-
amines man's need for
redemption and the tension
between Christian absolution
and Jewish guilt.
It isn't only the pope's
declaration that upsets
Goldman. That same morn-
ing he mistook a florist's
deliveryman for Adolf Karl
Dorff, the chief of his concen-
tration camp who may have
been a relative. "It doesn't
really matter if that guy was
Dorff or not," he says, and an
idea strikes him. Suddenly
Goldman begins to ramble
about the limited "Jewish
will to self-sacrifice."
A Jew can't get converted
because how can he bring
himself to believe in the
divinity of another Jew?" he
tells his assistant, Charlie
Cohn. He becomes paranoid,
waves a gun that he has kept
hidden, and shortly after
undertakes a series of
mysterious trips. Young
Edward Karam is a theater
critic and graduate student in
the theater department at the
University of Michigan.
Charlie, who is surrogate son,
heir and a yes-man par ex-
cellence to his employer, is
worried.
Before Charlie knows
what's going on, Israeli
agents confront Goldman in
his penthouse and accuse him
of being the Nazi Dorff. They
spirit him away to Israel,
where Goldman/Dorff
becomes the defendant in a
public trial that he helps or-
chestrate. He becomes, like
Adolf Eichmann, a prisoner
in a glass booth, but he denies
nothing; he even provides
details of horrors in the
camps and challenges his ac-
cusers. "People of Israel," he
exclaims, "if he (the Fuhrer)
had chosen you, you would
have followed, too!" He exults
in the crimes he is charged
with.
The issues in the play are
red-hot, but director Nick
Calanni's production only
simmers. It is symptomatic of
the missed opportunities in
the play that one of the most
_dramatic moments falls flat
because of a small detail.
When the Israelis haul
Goldman/Dorff out of his
booth to solve the riddle of his
identity, the actors, who
ought to be tearing his
*It r4
Nick Calanni: Director
clothes off, take time to un-
button his shirt. It may be ex-
pensive to rip a shirt every
night, but those moments
make greater theater.
Again, when Goldman
waves a gun at his doctor and
Charlie, they react with
casual bewilderment, not hor-
ror. The timing of the final
scene, when the Israelis
assault Goldman/Dorff in his
glass booth, also seems off.
The scene reaches a certain
pitch, then goes on too long.
Dan Lutzky plays Goldman
with a fervent neurotic edge.
He uses his hands constantly.
His fingers are splayed; they
17017 W. NINE MILE ROAD BET. Greenfield & Southfield • Southfield
DANCE TO THE SOUNDS OF A LIVE BAND AND DJ KEN
immtle.."COMPLIMENTARY HORS D'OEUVRES
A
21 TO 45 PLEASE • PROPER ATTIRE • CASH BAR
$5.00 AT THE DOOR
ALSO ENJOY AN EARLY DINNER BEFORE
THE PARTY IN LOOPHOLE'S RESTAURANT
"EARLY BIRD" Is.;717:i1ENL: e Ne
71 75117800
DINNER SPECIAL 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Daily
ONLY $9.95 per person
VinTI
DINING WITH THAT SPECIAL SOMEONE?
Dan Lutzky stars as Arthur
Goldman
entwine; they wag; they pro-
be his temple; they poke his
assistant Charlie, or slap him
on the back. They suggest a
man twisted up inside. But by
Act II Lutzky's mannerisms
become tiresome, and one's
awareness of his "acting"
keeps us at an emotional
distance.
As Charlie, Richard
Marlatt plays the toady well,
but is unconvincing in his
drunk scene. John Puchalski
is a formidable physical
presence as Goldman's
valet/bodyguard, and Mark
Willett is a bundle of nervous
energy as the tailor Rudin.
Later, as the witness
Tzelniker, he also hits the
mark with a simple delivery,
although his South African
accent is way off. Laurie V.
Logan as Rosie Rosen seemed
still outside her character at
Saturday's preview; ironical-
ly, she is most effective when
sitting silently at the pro-
secutors' table. The minor
roles are well-handled, and
Ann Bleecker, in the tiny,
crucial role of Mrs. Lehman,
is superb. In the last few
minutes she seizes the stage
for a demonstration of "less is
more."
Gary Decker's sets look
good and work well enough,
although all concerned need
some time getting used to the
shallow space. A character
kneeling downstage can't be
seen easily even a few rows
back. And having the glass
booth on stage before it is
used is distracting, as are the
abrupt changes in Jim Lilly's
sound.
Some of the problems sure-
ly will have been ironed out
in previews; others will be
avoided as the company
adapts to its new space in the
Aaron Deroy Theatre. The im-
portant thing is that there's a
new company in town and it
has bold ambitions.
❑
OUR "DINNER & DANCING" PACKAGE IS JUST FOR YOU!
PACKAGES INCLUDE: A SPECIAL DINNER FOR TWO
WITH BOTTLE OF
CHAMPAGNE . . . PLUS
TWO DRINK TICKETS
IN YESTERDAY'S
ALL FOR ONLY
$26.95 (locie
Inc ludes
\7s Fe
n
r te Admission
ale
SAVE 20%
AT R.I.K.'s
THE RESTAURANT
■
Join us for an early dinner from 5-6 pm
Monday — Friday and receive a 20% discount,
exclusive of any alcohol.*
R.I.K.'s The Restaurant, for a contemporary
interpretation of classic Italian Cuisine. R.I.K.'s
also features a selection of HeartSmart ® items
approved by Henry Ford Hospital.
RIK!
THE RESTAURANT
Orchard Mall
Orchard Lake Road at Maple
West Bloomfield
(313) 855-9889
*For a limited time only. Entire party
must be seated before 6:00 pm.
On Valentine's Day
Bring Your Loved
Ones To .. .
WINTER HOURS:
TUES.-THURS.
5 p.m..10 p.m.
FRI. & S.T.
5 p.m.•11 p.m.
LIP
851.5540
Banquet Facilities
Available
• Innovative Dining
• Cocktails
• Piano Lounge
DON NADEL
At The Piano
Fri. & Sat. Eves
CINDY ROSNER KELLY
At the Piano
Tues.-Thurs.
4343 ORCHARD LAKE RD., WEST BLOOMFIELD
ORCHARD LAKE RD. AT LONE PINE RD. IN THE CROSSWINDS MALL
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
77