You won’t want to miss a major theatrical event as the playreading of Taking Sides features San Miguel’s own John Wharton and Jim Wright as BOTH the American prosecutor and his beleaguered German foe in Ronald Harwood’s 1995 masterpiece. On Thursday and Saturday John Wharton will play Major Arnold and Jim Wright will play Herr Furtwengler; on Friday and Sunday these accomplished actors will switch roles with Jim playing Arnold and John playing Furtwengler! For those curious to experience both versions, ask about our special discount at the box office.
The time is 1946 and Berlin is in rubble. But for the victorious Americans, the hardest part lies ahead: how to rid Germany of the hideous Nazi ideology. This ‘de-Nazification’ is the job of an American officer tasked with digging out Nazis in hiding who now, predictably, all deny any participation in Hitler’s evil.
One such closet monster may be Germany’s most respected conductor, a man of immense dignity who swears his only allegiance is to his music. Herr Furtwengler insists his honor is intact despite the Nazi elites’ best efforts to seduce him. But Major Arnold thinks he smells a Nazi rat and is determined to get him to confess his sins and blackball him from Germany’s reconstruction.
It’s a powerful post-mortem of the Holocaust showing another aspect of how decency was restored to war-torn Europe, showcasing some of San Miguel’s finest talent. Says Curtain Up, “satisfying because it fully engages its audience, leaving them with food for thought that extends well beyond the evening's proceedings.”