Irena’s Vow: Nervous laughs and glimpses of a dark and disturbing reality

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/09/26/theater/26vow.ready.html

            Irena’s Vow, presented at Baruch’s Performing Arts Center, tells the story of Irena Gut Opdyke during the German occupation of western Poland in World War II.

            After being raped, abused, tortured, and beaten by Russian troops, Irena was forced to work in a munitions factory in Poland. Overwhelmed with tough work and long hours, Irena faints and is confronted with Major Rugemer. Luckily, she is transferred and given lighter duties, and now also supervises the Jews who work in the laundry. When Major Rugemer gets re-assigned, he makes Irena his housekeeper. After overhearing that all the Jews will be sent to death camp, Irena risks her life by hiding twelve Jews in the Rugemer’s villa. With each passing day Irena and her twelve Jewish friends must combat the tension and adversity they are faced with. After all, the fates of both Irena and the Jews are in jeopardy.            The photographs and images rotating in the background throughout the show brought Irena Gut Opdyke’s story to life. These vivid and dreary images pulled you in, and allowed you to get a glimpse of the world through Irena’s eyes. One very powerful moment was when Irena is remembering a baby being snatched from his mother, where the soldier blows the brains out of the baby’s head. Immediately following Irena’s reflection, we hear the thundering sounds of machine gun fire, which strikes a very dark and deep part of your soul.

            Although the lighting puts the focus on certain characters, the stage remained static throughout the show, with only the addition of a few minor props. Even with the aid of real photographs, it was still challenging imagining Irena as a young girl, and now wise old woman, as there was no physical transformation. In fact, the only instance that Irena’s appearance changed was simply when she let her hair loose around her.

            Despite the dark and heart-breaking reality of the situation, Tovah Feldshuh, playing Irena Gut Opdyke, managed to surprise the audience with witty comments that sparked several laughs. This is seen when she congratulates herself, “I had just done what the entire Polish Army could not accomplish. I had chased one of the most powerful Nazis in Poland away from the hiding spot of thirteen Jews with a plateful of Schnapps and apple strudel.”

            Even though Major Rokita lacked the stern, cruel, and full Nazi attitude, the play compensated with Schultz, played by Steven Hauck. Schultz’s facial expression and gestures depicted his purposeful naïveté towards Irena’s decisions. However, he still maintained a softer, more empathetic and understanding side to him. This is seen when he admits in a “quiet friendly conspiratorial way” to Irena that Major Rugemer can be “quite harsh.”

            In Dan Gordon’s Irena’s Vow, Tovah Feldshuh commands the stage illuminating the grim and harsh reality Irena Gut Opdyke had to face. Although Irena’s hiding of the Jews, and their assistance in preparing a lavish dinner party almost seems fantastical, Irena’s Vow taps into your soul and brings you into a world where your fate is never certain.