Weird is the word at Woolly Mammoth Theatre
The audience members are shepherded into the main hall of the building where a platform has been set up. The characters from the video are found on the stage in the center of the room.
The following scene shows the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall in this theater, where many nameless characters flow in and out, cheering and shouting. When Honecker is taken away by some of the raucous students, his wife leaves the child with Pamela Dalrymple, a wealthy American tourist who has somehow found her way into the theater.
She, in turn, tries to unload the baby on Dulle Griet, one of the students who rushed in with a piece of the Wall, played by Jessica Frances Dukes.
This whirlwind of a scene comes to a characteristically bizarre and entertaining finale: a full-out dance and sing-along of the song "Everlasting Love" by the entire cast.
Though the first act is one big, messy excursion and the audience moves throughout the building to follow the action, the play stops spinning and comes into focus in the second act.
Pamela and Dulle Griet, who still have the child, have been pursued across Berlin by two wonderfully inept soldiers. Dulle Griet, who has actually cared for the infant all the while, has grown to love little Karl Marx.
When the soldiers capture the two fugitives, they are brought to trial for the custody of the child, along with Christa Honecker, the child's birthmother.
Before the trial begins, there is a scene in which Muller stands on a circular stage that serves as his cell and gives a speech in which he first attempts to justify his actions in collaborating with the oppressive Communist regime - although he ends up admitting his faults rather painfully.
The monologue is delivered with passion and deftness by Shalwitz and presents Mee's complicated view of Muller: While deeply critical, it is also empathetic and distinctly self-aware.
To his chagrin, Muller is called upon to be the judge in the custody trial. This is where the inspiration from The Chalk Circle finally becomes apparent. When the child is placed at the center of the circle, the three women argue and wrestle over him, and Pamela finally emerges victorious. However, she decides to keep on Dulle Griet as the baby's au pair.
The following scene shows the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall in this theater, where many nameless characters flow in and out, cheering and shouting. When Honecker is taken away by some of the raucous students, his wife leaves the child with Pamela Dalrymple, a wealthy American tourist who has somehow found her way into the theater.
She, in turn, tries to unload the baby on Dulle Griet, one of the students who rushed in with a piece of the Wall, played by Jessica Frances Dukes.
This whirlwind of a scene comes to a characteristically bizarre and entertaining finale: a full-out dance and sing-along of the song "Everlasting Love" by the entire cast.
Though the first act is one big, messy excursion and the audience moves throughout the building to follow the action, the play stops spinning and comes into focus in the second act.
Pamela and Dulle Griet, who still have the child, have been pursued across Berlin by two wonderfully inept soldiers. Dulle Griet, who has actually cared for the infant all the while, has grown to love little Karl Marx.
When the soldiers capture the two fugitives, they are brought to trial for the custody of the child, along with Christa Honecker, the child's birthmother.
Before the trial begins, there is a scene in which Muller stands on a circular stage that serves as his cell and gives a speech in which he first attempts to justify his actions in collaborating with the oppressive Communist regime - although he ends up admitting his faults rather painfully.
The monologue is delivered with passion and deftness by Shalwitz and presents Mee's complicated view of Muller: While deeply critical, it is also empathetic and distinctly self-aware.
To his chagrin, Muller is called upon to be the judge in the custody trial. This is where the inspiration from The Chalk Circle finally becomes apparent. When the child is placed at the center of the circle, the three women argue and wrestle over him, and Pamela finally emerges victorious. However, she decides to keep on Dulle Griet as the baby's au pair.
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