'BLOCK 5' | A review Great story gets acting it deserves

The truth comes out in many ways during a moving performance of a new work.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
How can anyone possibly put into words the horrors that Jewish people suffered under Nazi Germany? The English language does not have words to adequately describe the unspeakable crimes.
Emotions, however, often express what cannot be put into words. Local playwright J. E. Ballantyne, Jr., with his extraordinary new play, "Block 5," has managed to recreate one small segment of the holocaust with such intensity that, for three hours, the audience is caught in a time capsule, experiencing the reality of this horrific period as if it were the present. To see this play is to be transformed.
Ballantyne created his play from an account of an incident at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Although the account was only four pages, Ballantyne pieced together stories from other camps, resulting in a script based on reality. The accuracy of details is not important. It is the portrayal of the physical, mental and emotional torture suffered by the prisoners of Block 5 that creates the impact.
Seeking answers
It is a story of psychological sabotage, a sense of despair and hopelessness so deep that there is barely the will to survive. When a British POW is suddenly thrown into a cell with seven Jews the block is thrown into turmoil.
The Brit, Lt. Josef Cartier, is treated as the enemy, a spy; surely there must be some ulterior motive for throwing him in with this group. But the Jews also question why they are there, only seven of them, when the other blocks are packed full? Why have they been singled out?
As the play progresses, the Jews' attitude toward Cartier changes from contempt to gratitude. He becomes their only hope of survival. "You became a voice of reason and saved us from ourselves, saved us from our own demons," says Zuckerman (ably played by Alan McCreary).
Cartier warns them to not let the Nazis break their spirit, to keep hoping, and to not think of anything but escape. "The war is in here," he says. "And the enemy is yourselves." John Cox's portrayal of Cartier is magnificent.
Throughout the play, each Jew has an opportunity to tell his own story: One, a furniture maker, was forced to make furniture for the Nazis, desecrated by the swastika that was ordered on each piece. "I cried over every piece of wood I cut, knowing I was making it for those animals," he said. Another, a father and son, told of seeing their wife and mother being beaten and thrown into a truck when the Nazis raided their tailor shop.
Eddie Chacon, C. Richard Haldi, Chris Chaibi, Edward O'Malley, Thomas Gilmartin, Jr. and Brian Suchora were terrific as the Jews in Block 5.
Their reality
The violence in this play is brutal, gruesome. The Nazis kill Jews for sport. One is killed with a pick ax through the head. They witness others being killed, forced to lie down while boulders are dropped on their heads. The 10-year-old son of the Commandant shoots others in target practice. The Jews are forced to work in a quarry, day in and day out, moving boulders from one place to another, for no reason other than torture. Glenn Stephens, as the commandant, and Tim McGinley as the Capo captured the spirit of evil that pervaded the concentration camp.
Most of the questions asked throughout the play are never really answered, and probably never will be. It is not the purpose of this play to answer these questions, but to keep reminding us of a deplorable period in our history, so that it may never be repeated.
The performance of this work was simply excellent. The cast superbly brought these characters to life with bone-chilling reality. Seeing this play is very highly recommended.
Opening night was dedicated to the memory of Erich and Heinz Geiringer, who died in the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. They were the father and brother of Eva Schloss, step-sister of Anne Frank. She herself a survivor of a concentration camp, has written a book, "Eva's Story," and will be present for signing.
X"Block 5" runs through May 29 at The Oakland Center for the Arts. For more info (330) 533-1699. The May 25 performance is a special fund-raiser for The Oakland. Tickets for that day only: (330) 746-0404.