By Amanda Williams
a-williams.3@onu.edu
History books and classes tell us about Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in Germany and the terrible deeds he committed during World War II. But the majority of people know very little about his life before he became Führer. The early part of Hitler’s life – the experiences and failures he had, and the choices he made – is the subject of “A.H. (Before he Changed History),” a play written by Israeli actor/writer/director Yagil Eliraz that will have its American premiere here at ONU’s Freed Center this Saturday.
Eliraz is no stranger to the ONU theater department. He was in Ada in 2007, when he was the guest director for the Fifth International Play Festival. It was then that he pitched his play about the young Hitler to Nils Riess, the chair of the department of communication arts, and director of media communication services and performing arts. Riess, intrigued by the subject, agreed to produce the play in the United States.
“It’s what theater’s supposed to do; it’s what universities are supposed to do,” Riess said. “We’ve done international work, we’ve commissioned work, so let’s take work from another country and see if we can do it ourselves.”
The “A.H.” project has been a long time in the making. Eliraz has been working on the script now for the better part of a decade. He spent three years reading everything he could find in English and Hebrew written in and about the era Hitler grew up in before he even began on the script.
A self-proclaimed perfectionist, Eliraz said he wanted “to get inside [Hitler’s] head, and get my interpretation of history.”
He wanted to concentrate on the facts, but also make the play psychological. He said he wanted to make audiences think “about themselves in these situations, and see the similarities between them and him [Hitler].”
The first performance of the one-man show took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2005, with Eliraz playing the role of the young Adolf Hitler. The show is currently in its second run in Israel, with Eliraz directing. The current version is up for an award for the Best Fringe Theater Show in Israel, and is still evolving right here in Ada.
Based on the experience he’s had with it in Israel, Eliraz said that, since he began working on the American version of the production, roughly half the script has been rewritten. He wants to make sure it’s just right for the American actor preparing to take on Hitler: Ohio Northern alum Bryan Beckwith.
Beckwith, a 2007 graduate of ONU with a degree in theater, has been living and working in Chicago since he left Ada. He worked with Eliraz in the Fifth International Play Festival during his senior year, and it was then – “over a beer” – that Eliraz asked Beckwith to be his “American Hitler.”
Beckwith, now preparing to tackle “the greatest challenge [he’s] had in [his] acting career,” said he’s honored by and excited about the opportunity.
But the role isn’t without its challenges. First consider that it’s a one-man show, Beckwith said, and then consider that it’s about Adolf Hitler.
“It’s draining,” he said. “He [Hitler] hits every emotional chord and note.”
Riess agreed that the role – or any solitary role, for that matter – is a challenge for the actor.
“It’s the most difficult thing in the world to do,” Riess said. “You’re on a tightrope without a net. You cannot rely on anyone else. Any mistakes, any failures, any successes, are yours.”
And with a small, non-mainstream production like this, there’s always the risk of failure.
“We [the department] take chances on things,” Riess said. “We take chances on things that can fail. But if you never take chances on things that can fail, you never have real successes.”
Riess, Beckwith and Eliraz all seem confident that “A.H.” can be a success here in the States, as well as abroad. They hope, just as was Eliraz’s goal, that people will be able to take something away from the show. They hope that it can make audience members think about themselves, and perhaps come away with a greater understanding of how a person like Hitler evolves.
Regardless of ticket sales and revenue, however, Riess said the production is guaranteed to be successful in one area: teaching all those involved.
“The process is worth it. The journey is worth it. People learn things,” he said. “Ultimately, we’re doing research. We’re doing artistic research here.”
Beckwith calls this project “the next step” for the ONU theater department, and both he and Eliraz said they are honored to be a part of it.
And Riess’ request to those who are unsure whether “A.H.” is the show for them?
“Just come. Take a look.”