By Eva Trieger
SOLANA BEACH, California — A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview screenplay writer and codirector, Jake Broder, about his world premiere show, Sense of Decency, at the North Coast Rep.
After our chat I was very eager to see the show on stage and discover for myself how the relationship between the army psychiatrist and Hitler’s right-hand man, Hermann Goering, could have coalesced. While sitting in the audience watching the fine acting, I did not experience the sympathy required to make the connection to either man in a way that enabled me to see a true friendship or even a mutual respect.
As playwright Broder had prepared me, I did observe Goering’s attempt to bring Dr. Kelley around to seeing the flaws in our democratic system and the inherent racism in our own society that the former claimed yielded the seeds of the German lebensraum ideology. Anyone who was not of Germanic Nordic descent was deemed inferior. According to Goering, Germany was merely borrowing this construct from America’s early and ongoing racial inequality that began centuries ago with African slaves and continues to this day.
The scenes between Dr. Kelley (Brendan Ford) and Goering (Frank Corrado) were largely compatible, with a few bordering on being inflammatory or hostile. The most surprising revelation was Goering’s statement that he did not hate Jews. He was only acting out of loyalty for the Fuhrer. In general, the tone was conversational and the men appeared to go back and forth with a degree of acknowledgment of the other’s status. Kelley asked Goering why he was complicit with Hitler’s orders, and Goering wanted to know why Kelley couldn’t elude his superiors with his own limitations. The introduction of magic was not quite as anticipated with only a card trick, initially used by Dr. Kelley and later, replicated by Goering.
The exchanges between Kelley and his wife, Dukie Kelley (Lucy Davenport) tracked the disintegration of the marriage from their early newlywed status to the hardships wrought by Kelley’s newly discovered ambivalence about American society. His apparent change of heart or loss of perspective caused a divide in the couple’s marriage. Initially, their frequent conversations revealed Dukie’s valuable insight into Kelley’s patient. His obvious admiration and respect for her suggestions were made evident. Later, his total rejection and inability to hear her rational concerns revealed the undoing of their happiness.
While the play is historical, this reviewer would have liked to have experienced a greater sympathy for both the Nazi and the psychiatrist in order to genuinely feel empathy for either. Ultimately, I felt the acting was good but perhaps the script didn’t dig deeply enough to make me feel the connection between these two humans grappling with their respective raisons d’etre.
I didn’t feel Goering’s only purpose was to be known as greater than Hitler, nor did I feel that Kelley wanted to be remembered for changing America’s world view on race relations and political sway. Ultimately, I came away feeling that not only does the world believe that “morality is a luxury,” as stated by Dr. Kelley, but maybe all anyone can look for is a “shred of hope.” I hope that’s not true.
Sense of Decency will run through May 12, 2024. Tickets may be purchased online at northcoastrep.org or by phone at 858.481.1055.
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Eva Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eva.trieger@sdjewishworld.com