See Under: LOVE, a World War II twist on "The Arabian Nights," closes March 25 at San Francisco's Traveling Jewish Theatre. Performances began Feb. 15 for the show, which tells of a Jewish man who cannot die and spends each night telling tales to his Nazi captor, who promises to end his life.
Wasserman, the elderly Jewish protagonist of See Under: LOVE, spends his life penning children's tales until he is sentenced to death in a concentration camp. Only the writer won't die - he emerges alive from the gas chambers again and again. Neigel, the camp commandant, remembers this remarkable prisoner from his youth; Wasserman wrote his favorite book of children's stories, "Children of the Heart." Neigel then offers to give Wasserman the peace he seeks by shooting him at the end of each well-told story. The bullets do not kill Wasserman, however, and soon he realizes it is his duty to teach the Nazi humanity. See Under: LOVE, first a novel by David Grossman and then as a play adapted by Corey Fischer, won a grant from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays in 1999.
The cast features Aaron Davidman, Julian Lopez-Morillas, Joan Mankin, Mark Samuels, Robert Sicular, Helen Stoltzfus and Norbert Weisser.
Tickets are $25. A Traveling Jewish Theatre is located at 470 Florida Street. For reservations, call (415) 399-1809. A Traveling Jewish Theatre is on the web at http://www.atjt.com.
— By Christine Ehren