In the face of overwhelming evidence, it’s almost unfathomable to think that there are people who deny the holocaust happened. It doesn’t seem real, but unfortunately these people exist. Now denying the holocaust is borderline insane, however, there are those who question the accuracy of the information the world has on hand. For the purpose of knowing what history is truly correct, this isn’t that bad a thing. Jeff Cohen’s play The Soap Myth tackles this head on; historians grappling with the idea of survivors’ testimony, some of which may or may not be reliable.
Jeff Cohen’s play The Soap Myth tackles this head on; historians grappling with the idea of survivors’ testimony, some of which may or may not be reliable.
In the Black Box Theater at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theater, Cohen’s four hander hit the stage in 2012. The quartet of actors Greg Mullavey, Andi Potamkin, Donald Corren and Dee Pelletier perform a piece that explores the ideas of journalistic integrity where history is involved. Potamkin plays a Jewish journalist who is asked by survivor Milton Saltzman (Mullawey) to publish what he says he believes is true in regards to the Nazis manufacturing soap from the fat of Jews. Though she believes Milton, she eventually arrives at a revelation due to interviewing a historian that she cannot all together say for sure that Milton’s eye witness account can be published as factual.
The plays aims to examine who has the right to say what has happened and what is only speculation. Cohen writes a play that is thoughtful enough not to exclude said statements as ‘pure myth’, but also reasonable enough not to take a hard stance. As the set is basic and revolves mostly around the characters, the dialogue and subject matter is the main source of appeal. The ideas explored on either side of the spectrum are argued logically, Cohen having done his best not to lack empathy when broaching the stance of Milton. As a character, Greg Mullavey plays Milton with an intense passion. He believes everything he is saying, defending his position with an impeccable determinative attitude. On the other side of him, Potamkin plays journalist Annie Blumberg with an appropriate empathy though at the same time an open mind and a keen interest in Milton’s accounts. Overall director Arnold Mittelman keeps things as basic as possible so as to insure that the audience’s focus is in the right place.
The National Jewish Theater clearly knows where they see things in this staged production, but Cohen’s writing leaves room for open interpretation. Holocaust survivors are becoming fewer in number as the years pass on, and so they should absolutely be heard. After all, they were there, they lived it. At the same time, it’s also crucial to stand on principle about what can be proved and what can only be hypothesized. This is where Cohen gets things correct, doing his upmost to appease those who lived it, and those who wish to know more about it but still may be skeptical regarding certain subject matter. Digital Theatre has the taped version of this production available for stream.
