What changed
iTheatre Saratoga has begun rehearsals for “I Saw Hitler,” a new play about journalist Dorothy Thompson’s 24-hour expulsion order from Germany in 1934. The world premiere is scheduled for Nov. 13–22, with Mary Jane Hansen writing and starring as Thompson, Will Severin directing and composing, and Sky Vogel playing American diplomat Raymond Geist.
Why it matters
The play puts press freedom at the center of a historical confrontation: Thompson’s reporting angered Adolf Hitler, and she was expelled after writing an unflattering interview and reporting from Berlin as fascism took root.
Hansen built the script from Thompson’s journalism, interviews, archive materials and personal letters. That gives the production a sharper foundation than a generic period drama. Its subject is not simply what Thompson witnessed, but what happens when a government treats an independent reporter as a threat.
The production also folds Saratoga Springs into the story. Live scenes will be combined with filmed footage from places including Canfield Casino, Spit and Spat, and Broadway’s Victorian architecture. That choice makes a distant political crisis feel physically close: 1934 Berlin will be staged through the streets and landmarks of the city hosting the premiere.
The play’s argument is plainly contemporary without needing to turn Thompson into a modern pundit. It asks what democratic societies risk when warnings are dismissed and public voices are pushed aside. Its outcome with audiences remains unknown, but its central wager is clear: remembering how democratic values erode can be an act of preparation, not pessimism.
Comments
No comments yet.