Consider seriously a strong cup of coffee before settling in for "New Jerusalem," the David Ives play that opened Saturday at Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company in St. Paul.
Ives has taken a page from the Tom Stoppard playbook and written a serious work thick with talk, ideas, philosophy, religion and argument. It is rich material, particularly if your intellectual curiosity tends toward Baruch Spinoza, but the density of Ives' play will challenge your attention.
In 1656, the Amsterdam congregation of Talmud Torah interrogated Spinoza for his unorthodox pronouncements about the nature and existence of God. Spinoza believed God and the universe to be one substance — an impersonal presence as opposed to the personal God of Jewish and Christian traditions.
Spinoza's ideas would push Western civilization toward the Enlightenment and modern thought. In 1656, however, he threatened the safety of Amsterdam's Jewish community. City authorities deemed Spinoza evil and demanded Talmud Torah deal with him or suffer broader consequences.
Kurt Schweickhardt's production at MJTC cannot cover the flaws in Ives' script. Spinoza's sister, for example, enters the trial scene with a shrill personal agenda against her brother and then inexplicably becomes his advocate. Eliminate that role and you could start to chip away at the unwieldy length (2½ hours) of the play. Too, early scenes establishing Spinoza's relationships with Gentiles drift along and postpone the dramatic interrogation.
James Ramlet, a big man with a booming voice, convincingly represents Amsterdam's establishment — pushing synagogue leaders to censure Spinoza. Skyler Nowinski plays one of those leaders with a keen mind for the stakes.
The true heart of the production is George Muellner's portrayal of Saul Levi Mortera, a historic figure who taught the brilliant Spinoza as a youth. Muellner blends perfectly this rabbi's sad duty as Spinoza's friend and inquisitor. One senses in Muellner's performance the dilemma that Mortera faced: embrace the radical Spinoza out of personal fondness or expel the heretic to preserve the peace.
Michael Torsch's Spinoza is an odd duck and because Schweickhardt is a careful director, I can only assume he takes his cues from Ives. This Spinoza is smug, unyielding, a little snotty and immature. Torsch has a fine understanding of his character's dialogue and his arguments, but he brings a lightweight air that diminishes the gravity of Spinoza's ideas.
And that wig atop Torsch's head. Spinoza's historical portrait shows him with long, dark curly hair. MJTC felt that the literal representation was important so Torsch wears a phony bird's nest that does him no favors.
"New Jerusalem" is worth doing, and MJTC and Schweickhardt earn our respect for taking on the daunting volume of ideas.
Particularly in an age when theocracies across the globe seek to suppress independent thought, this play deserves our consideration.
Graydon Royce • 612-673-7299
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