The Soap Myth
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The Soap Myth is a play by American playwright Jeff Cohen.[1][2] The play explores the conflict between survivor memory and historical memory as it relates to the disagreement among historians shortly after World War II on whether Nazis made soap out of human remains. Following the relationship between a Holocaust survivor and a young Jewish journalist, it deals with themes of antisemitism and Holocaust denial.
Overview
[edit]The Soap Myth follows Milton Saltzman, an elderly Holocaust survivor. He develops a friendship with Annie Blumberg, a young Jewish journalist who has been assigned to write a story about Saltzman's adamence that the Nazi atrocity of soap made from human remains be displayed in Holocaust museums. Annie becomes caught between her sympathies for Saltzman and the stance of the Holocaust historians in the play that any publication about the production of soap will be used by Holocaust deniers to discredit the reality of the Holocaust.
Two characters representing historians of the Holocaust argue strongly that, despite a large number of eyewitnesses of the experimental soap manufacturing facility at Danzig in 1944, no assertions that any soap production took place should be published because no actual laboratory or production records survive as physical documents.[3][4] Another character, Brenda Goodsen, is a representation of Holocaust deniers including David Irving. She appears in the play to demonstrate anti-Semitism in the form of Holocaust denial, delivering a speech for minimizing the Holocaust and concluding that the Jews brought it on themselves.[citation needed]
Historical references
[edit]Foremost among the play's historical inspirations is the evidence that the Nazi regime had a program at the Danzig Anatomic Institute in 1944 to develop a process for the mass-production of soap from the fat of Jews being slaughtered in Nazi extermination camps, and produced soap in small quantities at a nearby concentration camp. The material in the Nuremberg Trial scenes in the play use as dialogue actual testimony given by British prisoners of war and by Nazis at the historical trials about the development of an industrial process for producing soap from human bodies at the Danzig Anatomic Institute, the production of such soap on a small-scale basis at Stutthof concentration camp, and the actual use of this soap by Nazi personnel.[5][6][7][8] In a dramatic moment, the players re-enact testimony from the Nuremberg Trials, including this recipe:[3]
"5 kilos of human fat are mixed with 10 liters of water and 500 or 1,000 grams of caustic soda. All this is boiled 2 or 3 hours and then cooled. The soap floats to the surface while the water and other sediment remain at the bottom. A bit of salt and soda is added to this mixture. Then fresh water is added and the mixture again boiled 2 or 3 hours. After having cooled, the soap is poured into molds."
Holocaust historian Robert Melvin Spector concludes that the Nazis "did indeed use human fat for the making of soap at Stutthof," albeit in limited quantity.[9]
Although The Soap Myth is a work of fiction, it is, in the words of the program, "inspired by real people and real events as well as an article written by Josh Rolnick in Moment magazine profiling Holocaust survivor Morris Spitzer."[10]
Production history
[edit]The play was originally developed in a workshop run in July 2009 at the Dog Run Repertory Company. That workshop was directed by Larissa Lury with a cast that included Katia Asche, Victor Barbella, Aaron Costa-Ganis, Louise Flaningam and Joel Friedman. A new, rewritten version had a brief run in the Spring of 2012 Off Broadway at The Roundabout Theater's Harold and Mimi Steinberg Theatre Center. The cast was Greg Mullavey, Andi Potamkin, Dee Pelletier and Donald Corren under the direction of Arnold Mittlelman.
On May 2, 2016, The Soap Myth was presented as a reading at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts. The reading starred legendary 7-time Emmy Award winning actor Ed Asner and 2-time Tony Award nominee Jayne Atkinson along with Blair Baker and Donald Corren. The reading, produced by Burke-Cohen Entertainment, was the flagship event of Remembrance Readings, a national program in honor of Holocaust Memorial Day presented by the National Jewish Theater Foundation.
During the week of February 21, 2017, "The Soap Myth" had 5 West Coast readings: @ Marin Academy and Marin Theater Company (San Francisco), @ Shomrei Torah Synagogue in West Hills (LA), University Synagogue in Irvine and at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City (LA). The cast was Ed Asner, Tovah Feldshuh, Blair Baker and Donald Corren under the direction of Pam Berlin.
From January 22 to February 1, 2018, The Soap Myth reading enjoyed a brief tour that included the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami Beach, FL, the Adolph and Rose Levis Jewish Community Center in Boca Raton, FL, the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, FL, the Zeiterion Theater Performing Arts Center in New Bedford, MA, Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia, PA, The Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City, New York City, and Hofstra University in Hempstead, Long Island, NY. The cast was Ed Asner, Johanna Day, Ned Eisenberg and Blair Baker under the direction of Pam Berlin.
In January and February 2019, "concert readings" of The Soap Myth were performed in Baltimore, Wilmington, New York City, Tenafly, NJ and Commack, NY with the following cast: Ed Asner, Tovah Feldshuh, Ned Eisenberg and Liba Vaynberg directed by Pam Berlin. In April and May 2019,The Soap Myth performed "concert readings" in Tampa, Sarasota, Wilmington, New York City, Hartford, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh directed by Pam Berlin with the following cast: Ed Asner, Tovah Feldshuh (Tampa, Sarasota, Wilmington, Hartford & New York City), Dee Pelletier (Milwaukee, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Cleveland, Columbus & Pittsburgh), Ned Eisenberg (all dates except for Hartford), Donald Corren (Hartford) and Liba Vaynberg.
On July 22, 2019, The Soap Myth was performed at the Williamstown Theatre Festival with Ed Asner, Tovah Feldshuh, Liba Vaynberg and Ned Eisenberg. About that performance, Williamstown Artistic Director Mandy Greenfield wrote: "Many heartfelt thanks to you and to everyone involved in the reading of The Soap Myth on Monday. I can say with utter confidence that the audience was reached, moved and transformed by the piece and the performance of your text!. I’m grateful to all of you for making the journey to Williamstown and for giving your time and extraordinary talents to telling this story with such depth and intensity. It felt epic, historic, important and meaningful beyond words. Thank you again for an evening this Festival will not soon forget."
Public reception
[edit]The play has gone through two substantially different versions. The first received a workshop production at South Street Seaport in July 2009.[10]
The New York Times called the play a "pointed investigation of the politics of history."[11]
Time Out New York wrote that the play "touches on a host of compelling issues: irrefutable versus empirical evidence, the subjective shaping of history, institutional agendas and, in its most effective scene, the potential seduction of anti-Semitism." But criticized the play's faulty dramaturgy.[12]
NYTheater.com, praised its "...dazzling objectivity and even-handedness" and "real moral heft..."[13]
The Villager found it compelling, "There are certain movies, plays, books that one wishes would never end. For me, The Soap Myth is one of those extraordinary plays."[3]
Following the workshop production, the play was substantially rewritten and subsequently produced in March, 2012 by the National Jewish Theater Foundation Off Broadway at the Roundabout Theater's Harold & Mimi Steinberg Center Black Box Theater. This production, directed by Arnold Mittelman, featured Greg Mullavey, Andi Potamkin, Donald Corren and Dee Pelletier. Reviews of this production were uniformly positive.
The New York Times called the revised play "A revelation... frightening... thought-provoking... genuinely moving."
History News Network called it "An eye-opening history lesson... gut-wrenching... unforgettable."
The Philadelphia Jewish Voice said "Continues to haunt me... this is the theatre of witness at its best - provocative and morally ambiguous."
Film
[edit]On April 22, 2019, PBS flagship station WNET filmed a concert reading performance for broadcast on their All Arts channel, at the Center for Jewish History in New York. The cast was Ed Asner, Tovah Feldshuh, Liba Vaynberg and Ned Eisenberg.[14]
A film, directed by Ron Kopp and Mr. Mittelman, was made of the National Jewish Theater production. That film was broadcast nationally through American Public Television on PBS stations across the country. The sponsoring station, WPBT2 in Miami, broadcast the premiere on January 27, 2014. In addition, the film was the first American offering on Britain's prestigious Digital Theatre website.
Ron Kopp also directed "I Will Refuse to Bubble: History and Theater as Defiance," a documentary about the making of "The Soap Myth" that examines the question of who has the right to write history, highlighting the importance of theater in understanding the world's most incomprehensible events. Featuring Holocaust survivor Irving Roth and scholars Michael Berenbaum, David Marwell and Bonnie Gurewitsch, it also is distributed online by Digital Theatre.
References
[edit]- ^ "Burke Cohen Entertainment ~ THE SOAP MYTH STARS ED ASNER". Burkecohenent.com.
- ^ Trbovich, Carolan. "BWW Review: THE SOAP MYTH at Sarasota Opera". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
- ^ a b c Tallmer, Jerry (July 8–14, 2009). "Some still deny the Holocaust, some simply refuse to listen". The Villager (Manhattan). Manhattan, NY: L. & J. Goodstein. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
- ^ False Witness; A play examines the notion that Nazis made soap from Jewish flesh, Marissa Brostoff, July 21, 2009, Tablet Magazine
- ^ Justice at Nuremberg, Robert E. Conot, Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1984, pp. 298–299
- ^ Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Vol. 7, SIXTY-SECOND DAY, 19 February 1946, Morning Session
- ^ Denying history: who says the Holocaust never happened and why do they say it? Michael Shermer, Alex Grobman, University of California Press, 2002, The Human Soap Controversy, pp. 114–117
- ^ Hitler's death camps: the sanity of madness, Konnilyn G. Feig, Holmes & Meier Publishers, 1981, pp. 200. ff.
- ^ World without civilization: mass murder and the Holocaust, history and analysis, Robert Melvin Spector, University Press of America, 2004, p. 392.
- ^ a b Program, Dog Run Rep, South Street Seaport
- ^ Where Political Agendas and History Intersect, New York Times, Jason Zinoman, July 21, 2009
- ^ The Soap Myth, Time Out New York
- ^ The Soap Myth, Martin Denton, Nytheatre.com, July 11, 2009
- ^ "House Seats | The Soap Myth | Episode 4". Pbs.org. Retrieved January 5, 2022.