CAPTORS Sheds Light on Eichmann's Capture

Captors

Written by Evan M. Weiner, Directed by Peter DuBois; Scenic Design, Beowulf Boritt; Costume Design, Bobby Frederick Tilley II; Lighting Design, Russell H. Champa; Sound Design, M. L. Dogg; Production Stage Manager, Marti McIntosh; Stage Manager, Kevin Robert Fitzpatrick

CAST (in order of appearance): Daniel Eric Gold (Cohn), Louis Cancelmi (Malkin), Christopher Burns (Hans), Eichmann (Michael Cristofer), Uzi (Ariel Shafir)

Performances through December 11 at Huntington Theatre Company, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston; Box Office 617-266-0800 or www.huntingtontheatre.org 

Evan M. Weiner should send flowers, a box of cigars, or a case of champagne to Michael Cristofer's dressing room for the run of this show. Actually, maybe he should send all three because Cristofer achieves something in his performance as Adolph Eichmann in the Huntington Theatre Company's world premiere of Weiner's play Captors that cannot be scripted. It may be intended and implied by the written words, but it requires the living, breathing actor to pull it off. Cristofer is able to embody the fear and dread felt by Eichmann when taken prisoner, display his internal scheming as he searches for an advantage with his captors, and inhabit the psyche of the man who convinced himself that his heinous actions were justified.

As suggested by the play's title, Captors takes a keen interest in examining the challenges faced by three Israeli Mossad agents who, in May, 1960, abducted Eichmann in Buenos Aires, Argentina and were holed up with him in a safe house for ten days before secreting him out of the country to stand trial in Jerusalem. Based on the 1990 memoir Eichmann in My Hands by Peter Z. Malkin and Harry Stein, Weiner's dramatization employs the conceit of the aged Malkin recounting the events to Cohn, a journalist who is helping him write his book some thirty years after the fact.  Cohn (Daniel Eric Gold) is the de facto storyteller/narrator who clarifies plot points and helps to move things along at various intervals, but these segments are never as compelling as the flashback scenes involving the agents and their captive.

Director Peter DuBois, the actors, and the design team combine to establish the urgency and danger of the mission undertaken by Malkin (Louis Cancelmi), Uzi (Ariel Shafir), and Hans (Christopher Burns). Beowulf Borritt's safe house features an all-purpose room with glass walls that alternately are blacked out or reveal the silhouette of an ominous forest, and a staircase center stage that empties into the small garret where Eichmann spends most of his time chained to a cot. The lighting, designed by Russell H. Champa, is deliberately low, perhaps to suggest the need for the agents to maintain a low profile and to keep their prisoner in the dark. Spotlights are focused on the set pieces in use, while the background is almost always bathed in darkness. The smoke rising from Eichmann's cigarettes stands out in bas relief against the blackness.

Weiner's script is at its best in the scenes involving Malkin and Eichmann. Malkin is a master of disguise and is charged with crafting a visual persona for the prisoner that will enable the team to sneak him out of the country in plain sight. It is not his job to engage with him in any way, but the two fashion a working relationship as they size each other up and come to an understanding. Uzi is the mastermind of the mission and Hans is the interrogation specialist, but neither character is given much to do. Burns does a good job of playing the spook when Hans questions Eichmann and showing his slow burn as Malkin usurps his territory, and Shafir displays nervous energy as the importance and magnitude of the task take their toll on Uzi's leadership. However, he has to develop a worsening cough that seems portentous, but is merely a Red Herring. Gold gives an earnest, articulate performance, asking the tough questions as Malkin's collaborator and tying up the loose ends for the audience.

Captors rises on the strength of the two lead actors as they play their psychological cat and mouse game. Cristofer gives a master class, eliciting more sympathy than his character deserves, even as he chillingly projects the innocent malevolence of Eichmann's world view. Like Malkin, we have to struggle against getting sucked into his web. However, Cancelmi convincingly shows how Malkin is able to put his mission above his personal feelings (like the other agents, he had lost close family members during the Holocaust) and find the crack in Eichmann's veneer in order to gain his trust and induce him to sign a statement proclaiming his willingness to travel to Israel for prosecution. Both actors succeed in illustrating the gradual transformation of their characters as the two men have an impact on each other. Although we are aware of the ending, Cancelmi and Cristofer play it as if the outcome remains in doubt and hold our interest until the document is signed.

Five decades after this historical event, the drama draws relevance from the recent capture and killing of Osama bin Laden. World opinion varied on the method used to bring him to justice, the debate hinging on whether or not he should have been tried prior to execution. The United States government did not wish to provide him with a forum for his rhetoric and felt justified in the action taken. Clearly, Eichmann was responsible for deaths on a much grander scale, but the State of Israel was adamant that he be brought in alive and willingly accept his transport from Argentina. Israel could not gamble on world opinion accepting a unilateral action on their part. Their chosen course gave Eichmann his forum, but the verdict gave him his due.

 

Photo credit: T. Charles Erickson (Michael Cristofer, Louis Cancelmi, Daniel Eric Gold)

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.