A Happy End
Opening Night: February 27, 2015
Closing: March 22, 2015
Theater: June Havoc Theatre
In 1932, a Jewish family considers leaving Berlin amid the imminent rise of the Nazi Party. They struggle to believe that Germany’s traditions of art, science and democracy will not change as Hitler comes to power. Although the signs of danger are increasing, the family ponders whether to seek an unknown future outside their beloved Germany or stay.
BUY TICKETSREAD THE REVIEWS:
March 12, 2015
In his recent speech to Congress, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel made dire predictions. His younger brother, Iddo Netanyahu, makes some, too. In his play “A Happy End,” presented by Abingdon Theater Company, a character says earnestly, “Our days of peace are numbered.” And she’s right. Set in Berlin in 1932 and 1933, the play spotlights Mark and Leah Erdmann (Curzon Dobell and Carmit Levité), a cosmopolitan Jewish couple who shrug off the portents all around them. Dieter (Joel Ripka), Mark’s colleague and Leah’s lover, urges them to make a new life outside Germany, but the Erdmanns believe that the Nazis will never come to power. “They’re on the decline,” Mark says confidently. And Leah declares, “Politicians can’t dictate how we should live our lives.” Mr. Netanyahu, a radiologist and novelist, is not the most natural of playwrights. “A Happy End” depends for its tension on the gap between what we in the audience know and what the people onstage ignore or belittle — a gap that would be more devastating if we truly believed in these characters.
READ THE REVIEW