Irena’s Vow Pleasantly Surprises Viewers

“Irena’s Vow” is an original play with a controversial theme and a grim tone.  The main character and protagonist of the play Irena, played by Tovah Feldshuh, does a spectacular job of both narrating and acting out her plight during the Holocaust.  Irena, already witnessing so much death as a young woman, makes a promise to herself to protect the lives of thirteen Jewish refugees.  She has the responsibility of preserving these lives as well as her own in the midst of the bloodiest slaughtering in world history.  Irena is mostly seen avoiding Strumbannfuher Rokita, played by John Stanisci, throughout the play, being that he could easily be mistaken for Adolf Hitler’s clone.  Although this personality was obvious because of his stereotypical Nazi upbringing, Stanisci could have done a better job bringing the character to life truly becoming the crazed lunatic Rokita was in real life.  Irena develops an odd relationship with the other main character of the play, Major Rugemer, played by Thomas Ryan.  Proud of his rank in the German military, Rugemer wouldn’t be caught dead helping the “Jew vermin” escape to freedom.  Ryan portrays the lonely, grief-stricken general to perfection depicting both the crazed Nazi side as well as a sensitive one.  The love-hate relationship between Irena and Major Rugemer proves to become very interesting as the course of the play develops raising many eyebrows.

The acting was just about the only above average aspect of “Irena’s Vow.”  I’ve seen better scenery and wardrobe productions in high school productions.  A very simple set composing of a doorway, and a raised wooden plateau sound exactly what they seem to be; boring.  Granted, the play was produced in the basement of Baruch College in the Performing Arts Center, but even so, I think scenery could have been much better.  This can also be said for the dull wardrobe used throughout the play, which sometimes convoluted the storyline.  For example, Feldshuh wore the same apron in every scene of the play.  This was also true for the Nazis.  As the scenes were changing, characters wore basically the same wardrobe throughout the play with minor, unnoticeable alterations.  This made the scene transition difficult to follow.

In terms of content and delivery regarding acting and performance I would give “Irena’s Vow” a grade of “A”.  Tovah Feldshuh sheds tears and even generates a few much-needed laughs throughout the play.  Major Rugemer and Strumbannfuher Rokita were performed exactly the way Nazis should be portrayed.  The performances were well worthy of a standing ovation at the end of the play and it was evident that these actors were not new to the game.  On the other hand, the dreary wardrobes and sub-par scenery aren’t exactly pleasing to the eye.  Looking past the struggles in the production department, I would definitely recommend “Irena’s Vow” to anyone willing to see a spectacularly acted play.