“Bent:” between a rock and a hard place

Considering the weather over the last few days, I feel lucky that I was able to get out of the house at all. Even though I had several destinations scheduled for the weekend, the “hurricane warning” coupled with a “severe storm watch” kept me from venturing too far from home.

Fortunately, I did make it to the current production of the Sulllivan County Dramatic Workshop (SCDW, scdw.net ) at the Rivoli Theatre on Route 42 in South Fallsburg, NY. The SCDW has an eclectic season scheduled and “Bent,” a powerful drama that takes place in and around Berlin during the Nazi occupation, is difficult and often disturbing material that is not for the faint of heart.

That director Constance Slater was determined to mount this production is a testament to her vision and belief that the company is capable of producing solid productions when they put their minds to it. Slater is no stranger to directing, and is a graduate of New York City’s High School of Performing Arts, which helped make her (IMHO) the perfect candidate to be at the helm of this well-written, engrossing story that draws the audience in to one of the often overlooked horrors of World War Two.

A shocking footnote in the program spells it out: “During the Holocaust, while all Jews were victims, not all victims were Jews. Dachau was liberated 65 years ago. The surviving homosexual prisoners were not—they were kept incarcerated until 1964 under paragraph 175 of the German Penal Code. The law was not repealed until 1994.”

I was horrified to learn this and stunned that I did not know, having grown up in a home environment that was keenly (or so I thought) aware of the devastation that occurred during that time period. Sherman’s play, originally produced on Broadway in 1979, was specifically written to bring these little-known facts to light, and Slater managed to achieve something I did not think possible, which was to find actors and support in the world of community theatre to successfully present such difficult and controversial material.

Matt Meinsen (as Max), Jim Pillmeier (as Rudy) and Rich Hotaling (as Horst) were engrossing and effective in their interpretations of these difficult roles. The play itself somehow manages to find light moments amid the devastating details of the story, which makes the theatre experience even richer. Phil Cappadora (as Wolf), Ed Berens (as Greta) and Michael Herko (as Uncle Freddie) were equally up to the challenge of the written word as well as supporting players Tom DelFavero, Paul Popieneik, Paul Puerschner and Joe Levner.

Rather than telegraphing plot points of the story, I encourage the community to (weather permitting) get out of the house this weekend and see the show, support the theatre and experience the play firsthand. The subject matter may seem grim, but the play is so well written and the production so effectively presented, that one cannot help but leave the Rivoli Theatre feeling enriched, informed and (dare I say it?) entertained.

The sets, costuming and lighting are elegant in their simplicity, allowing the words and action to speak for themselves, which does not mean that those aspects didn’t require hard work and dedication. Sometimes, it is more of a challenge to hold back on “effects” and allow the play to stand on its own, and this production is a perfect example of staying true to the work and allowing it to appear effortless, even though a tremendous effort has been put forth.

In our present day war-torn world, “Bent” is a cautionary tale, and one that should not be overlooked. This horrific war was not so long ago. Victims of the Holocaust still live among us, and although the words “never again” reverberate, the world-at-large is never at peace. Unsettling and disturbing, tragic and comic, strange but true, Martin Sherman’s play is one that should be seen, heard and experienced by people from all walks of life, since it is not just about Jews, homosexuals or prisoners of war. “Bent” is a play about the human condition and what can happen when a sense of superiority overshadows the need to recognize that we are all the same on the inside, where it counts most.

Second-weekend performances will be on Friday and Saturday, June 11 and 12 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, June 13 at 2:00 p.m. For more information call 845/436-5336.

Email jonathanfox@riverreporter.com or visit workingwithoutanet.blogspot.com.