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Whatever else anybody can say about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one has to admit it has potential to make great theater.
Just one problem: The subject is so hot that drama about it may take place as much off the stage as on it.
Already, such off-stage drama has occurred about the play “Paradise,” which Milwaukee’s Next Act Theatre will be producing Jan. 25-Feb. 25.
In fact, that is exactly what attracted David Cecsarini, the company’s artistic director, to this 90-minute exploration of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by American playwright, director and educator Glyn O’Malley, who died Nov. 14 of a heart attack at age 55.
The play tells of two teenage girls, a Palestinian who becomes a suicide bomber and a Jewish/Israeli who is among the Palestinian girl’s victims. It was inspired by a real incident that happened in 2002.
As Cecsarini explained in a telephone interview, he read about how an early draft of this play, which had been commissioned by Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for an audience of high school students, had a reading in Cincinnati in 2002.
Both the local Muslim and “pro-Zionist” communities had problems with the work, but the former raised so intense a protest that a planned production was cancelled.
Cecsarini read an opinion article criticizing the cancellation, saying that the purpose of drama is “to evoke strong feelings and present perspectives different from your own.”
“Those things caught my eye as supportive of our mission” at Next Act, which is, according to the company’s Web site, to “engage the hearts and minds of its audience with compelling, intimate, professional theatre intended to stimulate thought, foster the exchange of ideas, and promote the development of new perspectives and understanding.”
‘Fleshed out human beings’
So Cecsarini “stuck [the article] on my wall” and looked at it again a few years later when planning the plays for this year’s season. He learned that the author had revised the play for an adult audience. Cecsarini acquired a script, read it and decided his company should perform it.
“Though specifically set within the West Bank in a settlement and a refugee camp, the experiences can be extrapolated beyond that area of the world and that time and place,” Cecsarini said. Thus the play “resonates beyond its specific, literal context.”
Moreover, the two protagonists “are fully fleshed out human beings,” not mere mouthpieces for their respective sides, he said. In fact, Cecsarini said he is planning to have “quite a few” talkbacks after the performances, and he hopes these will “concentrate on these human elements of the play, about these specific people.”
“In no way do I intend to provide a forum about who’s right or who’s wrong in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” he said. “That is a no-win scenario.”
Cecsarini also has been open to receiving information and views from members of the Jewish community. For one, Paula Simon, executive director of the Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations, is also a Next Act subscriber.
Soon after she learned that “Paradise” would be performed this season, Simon contacted Cecsarini and offered to help him find “resources, materials, information about the perspective of the Jewish community,” she told The Chronicle in an interview.
Cecsarini “scheduled a meeting right away” with Simon and other members of the Jewish community, she said.
Moreover, Jody Hirsh, Judaic educator at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center and himself a playwright, is scheduled to appear in at least one of the post-performance talkbacks.
In addition, Israel emissary Rakefet Ginsberg met with the Next Act cast last Sunday to provide her perspective as an Israeli woman.
Cecsarini told The Chronicle that he has also been in touch with Othman Atta, president of the executive committee of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee; and Cecsarini hopes his cast will hold a similar meeting with someone presenting the Palestinian perspective.
Simon said, “This is not an anti-Israel play,” but “is a play designed to show the conflict from the perspective of two teen girls who are affected in different ways.”
She added that Next Act has a history of “doing controversial things in general. This is not something out-of-the-ordinary.”
“We are encouraging people to see it before they make a judgment,” said Simon.
Still, Cecsarini said, “If you come from a strong pro-Zionist or pro-Palestinian perspective, you will find fault with the play. I can’t help that.”
“Paradise” will run Jan. 25 through Feb. 25 at the Off-Broadway Theatre, 342 N. Water St. For more information, including ticket prices and show times, call 414-278-0765 or visit www.nextact.org.
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