MEAN GIRLS MEETS THE THIRD REICH
Three teenage girls sit at a table in a bunker of some kind bored out of their minds tasting food three times a day before it is sent off to Hitler. They have clearly been convinced that this job is a privilege, for if one should die of poisoning it would be for the good of the Motherland, um, Fatherland, er, Deutschland. Their basic activity is gossiping, hurling obscenities, fawning over American movie stars like Ginger Rogers or Cary Grant (“OH MY GOD, Cary Grant!!!), or taking selfies on their locked cell phones. “This job sucks!” one declares with no German accent whatsoever.
Caitlin Zambito, Olivia Gill and Paige Simunovich
Wait, where are we? Definitely in early-1940s Germany. But in Michelle Kholos Brooks‘ astoundingly funny, painfully real, and surprisingly current Hitler’s Tasters, which opened last night at the Henry Murray Stage upstairs at the Matrix Theatre, anachronistic dialogue is used to normalize the frustrations of teenage girls — their meanness, insecurities, petulance, and quickness to bond — within the context of a world where people blindly follow a maniacal leader.
Caitlin Zambito, Olivia Gill and Paige Simunovich
In 85 captivating minutes, they dissect each other’s lives — sex, the Jews they’ve known, their family life — all under the fear that someone may be listening to them. That “someone” may possibly be the handsome guard which one has a crush on. He greets us from his highly detailed SS office as we walk upstairs to the theater, which, except for the audience intimately placed on three sides, is an empty cinder-block hell, fully lit by pendant fixtures as if in an interrogation room (set and lights by Joe McClean and Dane Bowman). For scene changes, the girls hysterically dance to modern music (Ashlee Wasmund, choreographer; Chris Moscatiello, sound) as they change into very plain dirndl dresses (costumes by Ashleigh Poteat). When food is delivered, the lights go dark, and a film noir shaft of light appears, accompanied by the sound of a clinking iron door, as the girls dutifully extend their arms to receive the food.
Ali Axelrad, Olivia Gill, Paige Simunovich
Aside from this, it is pure dialogue. Director Sarah Norris is responsible for the tension, pathos, and humor (I laughed uproariously more than once). Yes, the actresses are phenomenal — and I mean phenomenal — but it is Norris’s guidance that makes a delicious script all the more tasty. Each performer gets their turn at being vulnerable or wicked or caring, all eliciting our sympathy. The extraordinarily distinct actors Ali Axelrad (Anna), Olivia Gill (Hilda), Paige Simunovich (Liesel), and Caitlin Zambito (Margot) make up the best ensemble I’ve seen this year on an L.A. stage.
Paige Simunovich, Caitlin Zambito, Olivia Gill
While practically an all-female endeavor, this is not an in-your-face, feminist, #Me Too play. It succeeds because a horrifying situation (the girls are practically playing Russian Roulette by eating) is turned into a universal story about getting caught up in a society that rejects democracy, civil liberties, and political plurality. Exciting, incisive, intelligent, dark and satisfying, Hitler’s Tasters — inspired by the experience of the only surviving taster, 94-year-old Margot Wölk — succeeds because it leaves us haunted about the past and the present, yet giddy from witnessing great theater.
Ali Axelrad, Paige Simunovich, Olivia Gill
Given that, you may wonder, as I did, why the poster of the show places an asterisk where the “i” in Hitler should be. Apparently, it is so that Big Brother isn’t triggered by a word found offensive to someone or something (a bot, script, algorithm or “community standard”), making them (or it) remove the post containing the poster. I’m stunned after watching this particular play because it feels like an act of frightened capitulation. Is promoting a show more important than standing up to the authoritarian regimes of Facebook and Google? We are watching history repeating itself. F*ck that. I mean, fuck that.
photos by Jeff Lorch
Fri at 8; Sat at 5; Sun at 7; Mon at 8 (dark April 29, May 13)
A Rogue Machine Production
Matrix Theatre, upstairs on the Henry Murray Stage, 7657 Melrose Ave
recommended for ages 14+
for tickets ($20-$45), call 855.585.5185 visit Rogue Machine