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YSU Theater unearths 1935 play ‘No More Peace!’ History lesson with humor
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
Chances are you’ve never heard of the satirical comic-musical “No More Peace!”
It was written in 1935 by Ernst Toller, a politically active German Jew, who was exiled when Hitler came to power.
You can count on your fingers the number of times “No More Peace!” has been staged in recent years.
It’s not suddenly coming into vogue, either, but it does have renewed relevance. In a slightly Absurdist way, it takes on many themes of the 1930s – nationalism, scapegoating, intolerance – that are once again rearing their head.
Beginning Friday, the play will get a rare revival at Youngstown State University Theater.
C. Austin Hill, a first-year professor of theater at YSU, is directing.
“No More Peace!” was put on the theater’s 2016-17 season a year ago. That was well before the U.S. presidential election, but with an eye as to what might happen, said Hill.
The life of playwright Toller is inextricably woven with “No More Peace!,” even though this is probably the least-known of his works.
“Academics who study the works of Toller don’t even know about it,” said Hill. “[Toller] wrote it while in England, exiled from Germany. He was a Jewish communist and very noisy, very politically active.
“This is an exile play, and Toller was in a hard place in his life,” Hill continued. “But what’s weird is that it’s a comedy and it’s very funny.”
Toller committed suicide four years after the release of the play, while he was living in New York.
While “No More Peace!” predates the Absurdist movement, it is very much part of the Expressionist school of art and theater, and YSU’s production stays true to its origins.
“There are sharp angles and moody lighting,” Hill said. “There is a darkness and heaviness to it, and we wanted to make sure we captured it so that the comedy comes across.”
Each character is played with the style and magnitude of a cartoon character.
“The script demands it,” said Hill. “Anyone familiar with the movies of director Tim Burton will be familiar with the style.”
The story stems from a conversation about mankind between Napoleon Bonaparte and St. Francis of Assisi. Napoleon claims that man is warlike, while St. Francis says that humanity will always choose peace.
To see who is correct, Napoleon sends a telegram to the tiny, and fictional, European nation of Dunkelstein that simply reads “I Declare War On You.” It does not say who it is from or the reason for declaring war, but the people of Dunkelstein react by electing Cain, who has a great deal of military experience.
Cain cracks down on all who oppose him, seizes control of the military, and sets the tone for public discourse.
“Everything that happens is a chain reaction caused by placing power in the hands of Cain, the fascist leader,” said Hill.
With the rise of far-right extremism in Europe and the United States, he calls “No More Peace!” a cautionary tale.
“I think we can all agree that we are divided politically,” said Hill. “This shows what can happen when the wrong people have too much power.”
The play is being staged in Spotlight Theater, the intimate blackbox room with seating on three sides of the stage. That was intentional, said Hill.
“Doing it there really implicates the audience, because of the small space,” he said. “They can see everyone else in the audience. They will watch the reaction of fellow Youngstowners. It’s a shared experience.”
Another interesting aspect of “No More Peace!” is the fact that it has music in it, but little is known of it. That left Hill and his crew on their own.
“Toller and his collaborators wrote music in the spirit of [the late German playwright] Bertolt Brecht,” said Hill. “In some cases, we had the lyrics but no music, and in other cases we had the music but it was dreadful.”
Hill enlisted YSU grad student Ian LeRoy as music director. LeRoy composed music for the play, including “The Dictator Song,” which Hill said sets the tone for the middle of the play.
The songs are played by cast members who also double as musicians. It was yet another choice that the creative team had to make in staging a play that is almost never performed.
“There is no source to follow, and that makes it an exciting play to put on,” said Hill.
The cast includes Ben Mowrer, Mac Callahan, Simon Davis, AnnMarie Lowerre, Halla Henry, Mia Colon, Jessica Hirsh, Sarah Mentzer, Brooke Nobbs, Megan Jones, Rosie Bresson, Mason Edmunds, Josh Crank, Shanon Coleman, Alicia Reed, Ian McBride, Nathan Wagner, Leah Tekac, Paige Rebber and Ciara Rosario.
Ellen E. Jones is scenic/lighting designer; Todd Dicken is production manager; Katherine Garlick is costume designer; and April Rock is temporary costume shop supervisor.