Toronto Star ReviewApr. 16, 2004 Modern lessons in play's creeping NazismThe Secret Of Gabi's Dresser By Kathy Kacer. RICHARD OUZOUNIAN With the distressing number of hate crimes taking place in our city over the past few weeks, The Secret Of Gabi's Dresser acquires new importance as a piece of theatre. This play by Kathy Kacer, which began performances yesterday afternoon at the Al Green Theatre, is being called "the first Canadian Holocaust drama for young people," and although that's certainly true, it's a script that possesses considerable resonance for adults as well. Kacer has based on the story on the true history of her family and how they survived the Nazi regime in Slovakia during World War II. Her mother actually hid in a dresser in the family dining room when the soldiers came looking for her and the memory of that story stayed with Kacer all these years. But what makes this particular show so potent is that it's not just one more riff on the Anne Frank story, putting the major focus on the process of how a Jewish family did (or didn't) escape from the Nazis. On the contrary, the entire first half of this play, in fact, is about the slow, insidious and chilling way that racial intolerance spreads through a school, then a community, then a country. At first, we meet young Gabi and her chums as they play happily and attend classes together — Jew and Gentile alike. Then one day, an act of schoolyard violence against one of the Jewish children occurs. Everyone tries to dismiss it as an isolated event, but soon it becomes apparent that the Jewish citizens of this small town are being separated from everyone else and stripped of their privileges, one by one. We're nearly 30 minutes into this compact one-hour show when the first swastika armband appears, and although we've been prepared for it, it still shocks us. That's how hate takes over a country, step by quiet step. The final half of the play becomes far more conventional as everyone tries to flee for their lives or hide until the horror is over. But it still has power, because this is a story we cannot, must not, allow ourselves to forget. Mark Cassidy has done a solid job of directing the piece, staging it with fluidity and making nice use of offstage singing to bridge the scenes. He has also wisely encouraged his actors to play for truth, instead of emotionalism. Even the evil Nazi of Alan Lee acquits himself with commendable restraint. Jill Morrison is sweetly touching as Gabi and Renée Strasfeld delightful as her best friend. There's also moving work from Nadine Rabinovitch and Allan Price as Gabi's parents, as well as Clyde Whitham as their devoted farmhand. The single moment that chilled me most occurred when one character tried to find an explanation for the anti-Semitism that is taking over. "When people feel desperate, they look for an easy answer." It was true then and, unfortunately, it's still true now. |
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