THIS GRIPPING PRODUCTION
IS A GEM — AND A WARNING

Sally Carson began writing Crooked Cross while on vacation in Bavaria. This was in the early 1930s when Hitler was just rising to power. It’s a pity more people didn’t read her book. The novel, and later the play which she adapted from it, are powerful warnings of what was to come. And now, just when we need it most, The Mint is reviving the play to remind us of all we lose when we forget our common humanity.

Jakob Winter, Ella Stevens, and Gavin Michaels

Gavin Michaels and Ella Stevens

Directed by Mint Theater Company Artistic Director Jonathan Bank, the show features Samuel Adams as Moritz Weissmann, a Jewish doctor who loses his job as the Nazis rise to power, and Ella Stevens as Lexa Kluger, his faithful girlfriend. Their relationship is not only threatened by the rising tide of antisemitism but also the unfortunate circumstance that Lexa’s brothers, Helmy (Gavin Michaels) and Erich (Jakob Winter), have enlisted in the National Socialist Party. They insist Lexa stop seeing Moritz, and she of course refuses.

Gavin Michaels and Liam Craig

Samuel Adams and Ella Stevens

There isn’t much more of a plot to this tragic love story, and the ending will come as no surprise, but still the drama is gripping, knowing what we do of the horrors that await Germany, Jews and the world.

Gavin Michaels, Jakob Winter, and Ella Stevens

Set designer Alexander Woodward has used the stage turntable at Theatre Row to good effect, moving the audience from the Kluger home to the meager lodgings Moritz and his father must take after Moritz’s dismissal. And the penultimate scene at Nagelspizt Mountain in the Bavarian Alps is enhanced by Christian DeAngelis‘s dramatic lighting.

Liam Craig, Gavin Michaels, Ella Stevens, and Katie Firth

Liam Craig and Katie Firth

Although the acting in this production is certainly adequate, Crooked Cross would have benefitted from acting that touched us emotionally rather than merely intellectually. We would be horrified by any story about people suffering at the hands of the Nazis. What makes this story especially moving?

Nonetheless, many people will see Crooked Cross and look at the changes occurring all around us and tremble.

Samuel Adams, Douglas Rees, Ella Stevens, Jack Mastrianni,
Gavin Michaels, Katie Firth, Liam Craig, and Jakob Winter

Samuel Adams and Ben Millspaugh

photos by Todd Cerveris Photography

Crooked Cross
The Mint Theatre Company
New York City Center Stage II, 131 W 55th St (between 6th & 7th avenues)
Ty Fanning replaces Samuel Adams as Moritz October 25
Tues-Sat at 7pm; Wed, Sat and Sun at 2pm (dark October 24)
ends on November 1, 2025
for tickets, call 212.714.2442 x 45 or visit Mint