When Barbara Leigh saw the mask drama “Company of Angels: The Story of Charlotte Salomon” in 2005 at a national puppet festival, she was “blown away.”
“This is a story of an artist who fought depression through art,” said Leigh, who is artistic producing director of the Milwaukee Public Theatre. “It’s a nice match for us,” she said, noting that MPT is increasingly working in arts and healing.
So Leigh was enthusiastic when Minneapolis’ In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre company contacted her about presenting a touring production of the show in Milwaukee.
The show, a mask drama created by a British company in 2002, will take the stage at the Pabst Theater on Sunday, Oct. 22, at 4 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 23, at 9:30 a.m.
Though Charlotte Salomon’s story is not easily found in Holocaust studies, her art provides a view into Jews’ lives during the Nazi era.
“The Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam treats Salomon’s collection as an historical document rather than artwork,” said Trace Yue, marketing director of Minneapolis’ In the Heart of the Beast Theatre, in a phone interview.
“Hers is the best remaining collection of visual documents from the Nazi era, because it records intimately what everyday family life was like then.”
But her work also reveals Salomon’s extraordinary spirit, said Yue. “Charlotte Salomon overcame mind-boggling tragedies. She found her spirit, and it told her to paint.
Painting was her way of fighting her demons, and in the end she gave us a gift.”
Secret family history
Born in Berlin in 1917, Salomon was forced to leave the State Art Academy in Berlin because she was a Jew. When World War II began she was sent to the south of France to live with her grandparents. It was there that she witnessed the attempted suicide of her grandmother.
At age 23, she discovered her family’s secret history of depression and suicide: Her mother, aunt and three other female relatives had committed suicide. The suicide of her grandmother soon followed.
Reeling from her legacy and struggling with her own depression, she turned to art as a means of remembering her past and healing herself.
That she was deported to Auschwitz and perished in the gas chamber at 26 brought her story — and her autobiographical lifework — to the forefront.
“Without Charlotte Salomon’s collection of art, the world would have no trace of this woman and her life,” said Yue.
From 1940-1942 Salomon created a series of gouaches (opaque watercolors), titled “Leben oder Theatre?” (Life or Theater?), that follow her life events and illustrate her response to her family’s suicides and her own struggle to heal. Recurring images, such as the window through which her mother jumped to her death, are central to the series.
In 1972, Salomon’s father and stepmother donated the entire collection to the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam, where it remains today.
In 2000, the museum sent out a limited touring exhibit of “Leben oder Theatre?” Members of British puppet and mask theater Horse + Bamboo saw the collection in London’s Royal Gallery.
“They marveled at her story and decided to create a piece,” Yue said.
The result is “Company of Angels,” which toured the UK in 2002. HOBT worked with Horse + Bamboo to first bring the production to the United States in 2004, where it had a limited run in the Twin Cities.
Beyond words
Aside from its content, the production itself is not ordinary theater. “This production expands the idea of theater,” Yue explained. “We hear over and over what people have gotten from watching this production.
“They’re full of discovery about what theater can mean to them. Most people think theater means words, but it does not — it relies very much on visuals.”
“The show has been designed as if we have just walked out of her paintings — it’s in the style she used to paint,” Yue said. “You won’t see Salomon’s actual paintings. in the show,” but the Pabst will have a display in the lobby.
Actors in the production wear full helmet masks. Movement, music and lighting help tell the story.
For Leigh, the production is important because “it brings up a lot of scenes vital to civilization. It helps us be more committed to our humanity.”
Local co-sponsors include the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Coalition for Jewish Learning, the American Jewish Committee Milwaukee chapter, the Goethe House and the Pabst Theater.
The Sunday performance is free and open to the public, although a $20 per ticket donation is suggested. At 3:15 p.m., MPT will hold a pre-show reception for those interested in sharing their experiences of the arts and healing.
Patrons may obtain advance tickets beginning Oct. 16 by calling the Pabst at 414-286-3663 or 800-511-1552, or on the Web site, www.pabsttheater.org.
The free 9:30 a.m. performance on Oct. 23 is for school groups. The show is recommended for ages 12 and older. To reserve seats, request free curriculum guides, or arrange for classroom visits, call the MPT at 414-347-1685.
Both the public and school performances will feature a post-show talkback with speakers from the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Coalition for Jewish Learning.
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