Word: hitleritis
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...phenomenon is influencing historical fiction. Even men are catching on to the imaginative possibilities. Earlier this year Ron Hansen dug deep for Hitler's Niece, a novel that cast the teenage Geli Rabaul as Lolita to the Fuhrer's Humbert Humbert...
...complex story in question addresses one of the most frequently debated issues of modern times: what drove otherwise reasonable German citizens to embrace and support the Nazi regime of Hitler. Good is a study of the gradual acquiescence of a nation toward the hatred and genocide that took place in '30s Germany, culminating in the Holocaust. It explores this theme on a personal, individual level--through the character of John Halder (Diego Arciniegas), a humanities professor and a fundamentally good man who ultimately dons an S.S. uniform and heads off for his new position at the Auschwitz death camp. Halder...
...Halder is an appealing character because he reacts in much the same way that the audience would--at least initially. Upon first being sought out by the Nazis, Halder is skeptical. In Halder's mind, Hitler (Brendon DeMay) is a babbling idiot, who in some of the evening's most amusing moments, sings a Jewish wedding song and proclaims at an imaginary rally, "I don't know where I am. I don't know what I'm doing." Halder's wife urges him to join the party for the practical purpose of obtaining a more prestigious university position. He does...
...finds himself first trying to rationalize euthanasia as a compassionate act toward the sick and deformed, then the bonfire of the books, Krystal Nacht, and in what proves to be the play's most shocking (if somewhat farfetched) moment, Auschwitz. As Halder's rationalizations become increasingly strained and desperate, Hitler assumes a more seductive tone in Halder's mind, and his image is accompanied by popular, catchy drinking songs...
...simply one of the play's ingenious, innovative touches. The songs and symphonic pieces break up the monotony of Halder's long soliloquies, adding comic relief or exaggerating irony when necessary. As the play's events unfold, the music gradually becomes more serious to match the severity of Hitler's increasingly powerful position. Musical director John Baxindine '00 does an admirable job as band leader, and his three fellow musicians, prominently displayed at center stage, perform even the most intricate pieces with style and success. Only four musicians? It is through its simplicity that Good is effective. A simple, logical...