Although David Meyers’ WE WILL NOT BE SILENT (@ New Rep
through Nov. 4th) takes place in Nazi Germany over 70 years ago
(based on real members of the Resistance movement) it seems to mirror events in
our time…the only difference is that the German woman at the heart of Meyers’
play is put to death for protesting against Hitler and protesters in the U.S.
are not… Except that it does happen here. A woman attending a peaceful rally in
Charlottesville , Virginia
Sophie Scholl’s small resistance organization (the White
Rose) published leaflets which were her undoing when the police found them in
her possession. Among other charges against Hitler were the words, “Every
word that comes from his mouth is a lie.” We often wonder how the Germans
could let the Holocaust happen. “Never Again” is written above
the concentration camps that still stand as horrific reminders. Yet the
Nationalist (trans. Nazi) Party is gaining ground today in Germany (and all over Europe ).
And here.
Tim Spears gives a strong performance as Sophie Scholl’s
interrogator, playing “good cop/bad cop” with her emotions. Sarah Oakes
Muirhead as Sophie has the difficult task of playing the nobility beneath her
stalwart exterior. Muirhead seems so frail, yet the resistance rested on her
small shoulders. Like Brecht’s Galileo, she is offered leniency if she recants
and like Shaw’s Joan of Arc, she can’t deny what she believes, even to see her
beloved family again. Like Shaw’s Joan, Meyers gives Sophie a lovely speech
about the earthly beauty she will lose. Meyers also affords her the chance to
see her brother (a graceful Conor Proft) again, if only in her imagination.
Director Jim Petosa’s resonant production reminds us of the terrible
consequences of “silence.”
