THE INTERPRETER at The Theater Project

The Theater Projects thought-provoking The Interpreter imagines a Jewish interpreters conversations with Nazis at the Nuremberg trials. The Theater Project (TheTheaterProject.org), a leading incubator for rising talent and a showcase for New Jersey artists, will present a live streaming production of award-winning playwright Joseph Vitales thought-provoking The Interpreter November 4-14. The play runs November 4-7, and again November 11-14. The Thursday-Saturday performances begin at 7:30 p.m. while Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. The production employs the designers from Transcend Streaming to integrate strong visuals and sound elements with the virtual performance. An open dialogue talk back with the playwright, actors and director follows selected broadcasts. The play was inspired by the real-life experiences of Richard Sonnenfeldt, the chief interpreter at the Nuremberg trials, but is a work of theatrical fiction. It depicts the complex relationship between a young, Jewish U.S. Army interpreter and Hermann Goering, the leading Nazi on trial for war crimes. Vitale, recipient of a 2021 fellowship in playwrighting from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, said that although the play is about the Nuremberg trials, it also turns a mirror on ourselves. At the same time that Allies were trying Nazis for crimes against humanity, prejudice and intolerance were rampant on our side, Vitale said. What The Interpreter does, I hope, is to remind us that the virus of hatred lies at the core of humanity itself. By recognizing that fact, and giving voice to it, perhaps we can assure that unspeakable acts wont someday be perpetrated in our name as well. Gaining regional recognition for its ongoing projects during the pandemicincluding its annual Young Playwrights Competition, ARK (Actors Reading with Kids) program and its recently launched The Theater Project Thinks About podcastsThe Theater Project was just one of 22 organizations in New Jersey receiving prestigious NEA grants for the 2021 fiscal year. The Interpreter is one of the most thought-provoking pieces we have ever produced, said The Theater Projects Founding Artistic Director Mark Spina. This play is something that reaches beyond our traditional New Jersey audience. It is national in scope, and we expect an online audience throughout the United States, particularly among schools and Jewish organizations.