Little Willy Offers Big Punch

If you want dark humor, than Rude Mechanicals Theater Company's production of little Willy is the play for you. Little Willy, a semi-biographic play about Adolf Hitler's estranged nephew William, offers a twisted comedy full of irony as little Willy magnifies living life with the last name of Hitler.

The production offers a very cyclical script, redundant of William's life, which is woven in-between the reading of his letter to the President pleading for American citizenship. The audience first meets William as a friendly and optimistic salesman of VW Beetles, trying desperately to impress and sell. When he insists on someone taking a test drive in the car, a beautiful woman always manages to emerge from the crowd, sending sparks throughout William. The test drive inevitably leads to a walk in the park which leads to an invitation to go dancing at an "upper-class" dinner party, which ultimately results in the two ending up in bed – where William's nickname is unfortunately born. After a failed evening, dozens of thoughts scramble throughout William's head, often with a mysterious figure of a woman to push the prodding along. Although the audience can see the figure, it is open to interpretation what exactly she is supposed to represent. Do the woman's words represent William rationalizing to himself? Is the woman actually questioning him? Or is the scene meant to simulate a police investigation, given the empty stage and the dramatic spotlight which drowns William out. When full light returns, the audience sees William presenting one of his famous and sensational lectures from his series which reveals the truth about Hitler, as told by his very own nephew. This is a speaking tour which William believes is making him a wealthy, powerful and likeable man.

Mark Kassan as William Patrick Hitler

These are the actions that get repeated throughout the production. Years pass by and William refuses to change with the world around him, ultimately ending up in a very deep rut. He still sells cars and flirts with women using his full onslaught of charm. Fashions change, car models evolve and bigger and better advertisers sponsor his speaking tour all while William stays stuck in one place, letting the same things happen to him over and over again. His actions and desperation show the cruel and vicious cycle his life is caught in but demonstrates that it is something he really can't remove himself from, even if he wanted.

How do you cope with life when you have the last name of Hitler? Actually, the better question is how do you cope with the last name of Hitler when you realize the name is the only thing you have? This is the predicament William finds himself in and is masterfully displayed by Mark Kassan, lead actor and writer of little Willy. The varied routine of the sales pitch, the courting, the dating and laughter is a pattern easily picked up by the audience but is never acknowledged by William. He believes that he deserves to have the "American dream," but yet can't give up the stigma and mystery his notorious last name provides. Without it, he is nothing. Without it, Mark Kassan mopes around stage al la Willy Loehman from Death of a Salesman, never taking initiative to change, but rather accepting to just be just a common man when he really wants to be more. He sacrifices what could be for the comfort and familiarity of routine.

Mark Kassen as William Patrick Hitler and Roxanna Hope

However, little Willy is a dark comedy that finds humor in the repetitiveness of his life. The script allows for some predictability on the audiences' part displaying that although the years move on, William's actions do not. With each revolution in his life, he exposes more about himself by not changing and instead fluttering around with ways to make his "old school" thought be understood among more modern ears. His inability to accept failure eventually becomes humorous as the audience soon learns that he is not going to change. While it may not be knee slapping humor, William's actions provide an empathic smile from the audience as they see him travel down the same path time and time again.

Little Willy is well acted by its cast of two and creatively uses multimedia throughout the production to fill in an otherwise empty performance space. William's letter to the President is written in script and projected onto a large screen in the background as it scrolls to the end, simulating how the President might have read it. The screen also projects other objects which are visually minimal but add a subtle punch to the script. Every time the audience watches William pray, an image similar to the Celtic cross projects above him. However, during the final time William prays, the cross turns into a swastika – a transition that is graphically minimal, but obviously provides a great deal of symbolism and reveals more about William's character.

The audience can tell that Mark Kassan dove fully into the character of William Patrick Hitler and believes that his story should be heard, despite how sadly ironic it may be. Kassan easily illustrates the juxtaposition of William's conflict. On one hand, William yearns to be normal but can't because of the name he bears. However, it is the name itself that brings him the spotlight he craves, while providing limits that only allow him to be defined by another man and never anything more than Hitler's nephew.

Little Willy is not your typical play but should be commended for the way it insists on making people see another perspective. The audience is clearly given a situation they may have never considered otherwise, enabling them to empathize for a man whose only downfall is his name. Little Willy is playing through April 30th at the Ohio Theatre on Wooster Street. Please call 212-279-4200 or visit www.TicketCentral.com for tickets.

Photo Credit: Monique Carboni

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