The story of Adolf Eichman is not an easy one to swallow. The term "genocidal bureaucrat" probably oversimplifies things. In 1975, actor/playwright Robert Shaw explored a fictionalized version of the eventual execution of the high-ranking Nazi officer in The Man In The Glass Booth. Safely removed from the context of actual history, it tells the story of an architect of a man who lives as a wealthy Jewish industrialist in Manhattan who is taken to Isreal by secret agents to answer for war crimes.
Dale Gutzman is directing and starring in a production of the stage play this coming March. Under the right circumstances, this could be a very powerful drama. . . particularly in the intimate confines of the Off the Wall Theatre. Having worked in the space for many years now, Gutzman certainly knows how to amplify the drama in a space that small, but starring in a play he's also directing about a character of this complexity might feel a little too claustrophobic. The question is: does the overall effect end up being a good claustrophobia or a bad claustrophobia?
Gutzman is working on answering these questions and more as he continues to work on the play that opens mid-March.
Off The Wall Theatre's production of The Man In The Glass Booth runs March 14th - 24th. For ticket reservations, call 414-327-3552 or visit Off The Wall online.
