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proverbial Jewish play and call him
“The Patron Saint of Judaism.”
Growing up, Dugan often felt like
the typical teen: uncomfortable in his
own skin. But on stage — ah. There
everything was different, magical.
He decided: “I’m going to stay here.”
(Today, when he speaks to children,
Dugan tells them: “It doesn’t mat-
ter what it is you do. If you find your
strength, put your energies toward that
and your confidence will build from
there.”)
In college, Dugan majored in the-
ater, then he moved to Hollywood
where he quickly found roles on TV
and in films including Ghostbusters
II, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,
Kindergarten Cop, Race to Space and
The Even Stevens Movie. He also began
writing plays.
Dugan’s first work was Oscar to
Oscar, an autobiographical comedy
about his life in Hollywood, which
includes a scene (completely factual)
where, in a single day, he went from
starring as a swordfish in a children’s
play at a Baptist church to attending
the Academy Awards.
Writing, Dugan says, is “a lot of work
but a way for me to express myself that
compares to nothing I’ve ever done.”
He describes writing as “a dis-
cipline,” which he mastered after
studying scripts for 40 years and then
following a strict process: Write a
draft, ask friends in the business to
hear him read it, and then “Keep my
mouth shut and ask their impres-
sions. Say ‘thank you’ to everything
they say because most things are very
helpful.” Write down their comments
and go back and “find out what works
for you.”
Dugan’s next plays focused on histor-
ical figures including Robert E. Lee and
Frederick Douglass, and then, “always
on search for my next subject,” he came
across Wiesenthal’s obituary. He asked
everyone he knew: “Would you see a

play about Simon Wiesenthal?” and the
response, always, was “yes.”
So Dugan went to the Simon
Wiesenthal Center and said, “This is
my plan, but I know very little.” Quite
suddenly he found himself with more
than a dozen books and documenta-
ries, interviewing Holocaust survivors
and holding long conversations with
Wiesenthal’s right-hand man, Martin
Rosen. “Then I culled that into 90
minutes.”
A play focusing on a Nazi hunter
might sound terribly solemn. But in
fact, Dugan says: “Wiesenthal had an
enormous sense of humor, which is a
key to the success of the play. People
will laugh more than they cry.”
Wiesenthal also was “a family man.”
He was married for 60 years and close
with his daughter, with whom Dugan
spoke for his research on the role. “He
collected stamps, and he loved food”
— which caused a bit of a challenge for
the slender Dugan, who wears padding
for the role.
One of the most important critics for
Dugan was Martin Rosen, who told the
actor his portrayal of Wiesenthal was
“perfect” and the play “accurate.”
“That,” Dugan says, “was the greatest
of all possible reviews.”
Today, Wiesenthal’s work continues
at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which
monitors anti-Semitism and hunts
down Nazis who have managed to
elude prosecution.
Continuing Wiesenthal’s work is
“essential,” Dugan says. It is important
that these men and women — no mat-
ter their age — be brought to justice
and “for future criminals to look and
see their future if they go down that
dark path.”
Wiesenthal reminded them: “There
will not be a day in your life when
someone is not looking for you, and
after your death, your crimes will be
exposed and your family shamed for all
time to come.”

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details

Simon Wiesenthal

Wiesenthal runs Sept. 22-25 at the
Berman Center for the Performing
Arts inside the West Bloomfield JCC.
Tickets start at $38. (248) 661-1900;
theberman.org.

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September 15 • 2016

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