By Harry Duke
Former Windsor resident Francine Schwartz has long remembered the stories her mother and grandmother told her about living in occupied France during World War II and of the German soldiers billeted in their home.
For the last decade she has worked on a piece based on her family history and what began as a short piece of fiction developed into a full-length play. That play, The Germans Upstairs, is now being presented by the Raven Players at the Raven Performing Arts Theater through Sept. 15.
Young Josette Politzer (Grace Elizabeth Warden) is furious with her mother Anna (Rickie Emilie Farah) for agreeing to house two German soldiers in their home. Anna tries to make Josette understand that she doesn’t really have a choice, and soon German Army Officer Viktor Schuler (Bohn Connor) and his Junior Officer Helmut Bauer (Dan Stryker) are ensconced in upstairs rooms.
The awkwardness of the situation is felt by all, and that awkwardness is compounded by the fact that the Politzers are Jewish. Viktor’s attempts to get acquainted with the Politzers are initially rejected, but Anna is intrigued by the German’s intellect and manners. Despite Anna being married (though separated) from her husband, their relationship grows, much to the consternation of Helmut and Josette.
Viktor is torn between devotion to his country and his love for Anna. He knows she must flee to be safe. She resists his entreaties, fleeing to the country home of family friend Gaby (Kathy Ping-Rogers). An attempt to reconnect is thwarted by Helmut. The war ends. Anna and Josette survive. But what of Viktor?
Director Steven David Martin chose to present the play “in the round” with the audience seated atop the Raven stage where they’re greeted by the striking images of the flags of the Nazi regime and the French Resistance on the stage floor. The actors make their entrances and exits from all sides.
Such a setup usually presents two challenges: The actors must be blocked in such a way as to make the drama accessible to all sides of the house, and the actors must modulate their performances to account for the intimacy of the space. Martin mostly succeeds with the first, with the addition of a second level to the set providing an assist.
Farah gives a well-grounded, very believable performance as Anna. Connor, a gifted physical comedic performer, keeps most of those instincts in check though vocally there were moments when he appeared to be playing to the back of the house.
Warden’s performance as a petulant, foot-stomping teen was a bit one-note. While that may be a reflection of the writing, the performance might have played better with the physicality toned down. Stryker did fine as the party-line-towing Helmut, while Ping-Rogers brought a calming presence to her scenes.
Schwartz’s script has gone through several revisions over the years, and may go through a few more after this mounting. It runs close to two and a half hours, including a brief intermission, with numerous scenes taking place at a variety of locations—the house, German headquarters, a train station, the countryside, a hotel and more. The show would have flowed better with the drama more concentrated. What works for a film doesn’t necessarily work for the stage.
That being said, it’s still a solid evening of theater.
Kudos to the Raven Players for mounting an original work, and kudos to the community members willing to take a chance on an unknown play.
‘The Germans Upstairs’ runs through Sept. 15 at the Raven Performing Arts Theater, 115 North St., Healdsburg. Thu–Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $10–$25. (707) 433-6335. raventheater.org.
Thanks for announcing and then reviewing this remarkable play, and kudos to the Raven players for taking on an original work of this nature and making it work so well with minimal staging.