The Theater Project, a leading incubator for rising talent and a showcase for New Jersey artists, will present a live streaming production of award-winning playwright Joseph Vitale’s thought-provoking The Interpreter November 4-14. The play was inspired by the real-life experiences of Richard Sonnenfeldt, the chief interpreter at the Nuremberg trials, but is a work of theatrical fiction. It depicts the complex relationship between a young, Jewish U.S. Army interpreter and Hermann Goering, the leading Nazi on trial for war crimes.
Vitale, recipient of a 2021 fellowship in playwrighting from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, said that although the play is about the Nuremberg trials, it also turns a mirror on ourselves. “At the same time that Allies were trying Nazis for crimes against humanity, prejudice and intolerance were rampant on our side,” Vitale said. “What The Interpreter does, I hope, is to remind us that the virus of hatred lies at the core of humanity itself. By recognizing that fact, and giving voice to it, perhaps we can assure that unspeakable acts won’t someday be perpetrated in our name as well.”
The play runs November 4-7, and again November 11-14. The Thursday-Saturday performances begin at 7:30pm while Sunday matinees begin at 2:00p.m. The production employs the designers from Transcend Streaming to integrate strong visuals and sound elements with the virtual performance. An open dialogue ‘talk back’ with the playwright, actors and director follows selected broadcasts.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students and are available for purchase online. Purchasers will receive a link one hour before the performance.
Gaining regional recognition for its ongoing projects during the pandemic—including its annual Young Playwrights Competition, ARK (Actors Reading with Kids) program and its recently launched “The Theater Project Thinks About” podcasts—The Theater Project was just one of 22 organizations in New Jersey receiving prestigious NEA grants for the 2021 fiscal year.
“The Interpreter is one of the most thought-provoking pieces we have ever produced,” said The Theater Project’s Founding Artistic Director Mark Spina. “This play is something that reaches beyond our traditional New Jersey audience. It is national in scope, and we expect an online audience throughout the United States, particularly among schools and Jewish organizations.”
PHOTO: Surrounded by guards, Hermann Goering testifies during the Nuremberg trials. Possible interactions between a young, Jewish interpreter assigned to the trials and Goering is the basis of The Theater Project’s thought-provoking live streaming of The Interpreter, November 4-14. Photo courtesy of the Robert H. Jackson Center
