Review: Theater J's Scintillating COPENHAGEN

Washington is familiar with dueling ideologies and those hoping to rewrite history. However, Theater J's brilliant, intense and scintillating production of Copenhagen goes beyond the surface, exploring one's place in history. Michael Frayn's 2000 Tony Award Winner for Best Play explores a consequential meeting between two patriarchs of atomic energy in a play that is equal parts ideological chess match, philosophical debate on the merits of science and political resistance, and overall confessional. In the balance is not just two scientists, even though they happen to be Werner Heisenberg (Tim Getman) and Niels Bohr (Michael Russotto), it's the fate of the human race and what might have been.

Partially based on a true story, Frayn's work tries to answer what was discussed when German physicist Heisenberg traveled to occupied Denmark in 1941 to see his old mentor and friend Bohr. The truth is, we don't really know. Even the two distinguished scientists debated till their death on what actually was discussed. All we know is that Bohr left the meeting upset and the rest, as they say, is history.

Frayn uses the setup to not simply concoct a hypothetical dialogue, but to examine nationalism and debate the justification for political resistance. He does this by establishing the play as memory, with all characters providing narration to crucial moments. Together they are by joined by Bohr's wife Margrethe (Sherri Edelen), as they try to comprehend Heisenberg's visit from various moments in their decades-old friendship.

The memory-aspect of Copenhagen is creatively enhanced, thanks to set designer Luciana Stecconi and Eleanor Holdridge's patient and precise direction. Stecconi has clear translucent plastic sheets descending from the ceiling making it feel like the stage has been divided into sections of the mind. As the audience, we wonder thru those sections, trying make sense of these two men.

Now, most people don't associate physics with thrilling conversation, and yet Frayn's dialogue crackles. He does justice to the achievements of both men with a script that is conversational and engaging. Even more astounding, he takes the structures of the atom and other particles, and has all three characters use them to describe biographical details along with exploring their emotional narratives.

The joy of Frayn's work is that each character is a puzzle. Getman is masterful as Heisenberg, turning in a wonderfully complex performance. In his relationship with Russotto's patriarchal Bohr is a prodigal-son style relationship. He's able to charm and revolt, all while making the case that perhaps history has misjudged this physicist who worked for the Nazi's and later British Intelligence.

Russotto makes Bohr easy to love. This was, after all, someone who had to escape to neutral Sweden in a fishing boat to avoid Nazi capture. However, what Russotto does so well is to show the lament he feels at the loss of life both within his family and as a result of the science he loves. Nonetheless, he shows no qualms at embracing Heisenberg, someone passionate about restoring Germany's place in the scientific community, even if that involved the Nazis.

With the focus on Bohr and Heisenberg, it's easy to cast Edelen's Margrethe as a supporting character. And yet, anyone who has seen Edelen is well aware of just how dynamic a performance she gives. In Copenhagen, Edelen's Margrethe is more than just the supportive wife, she's the play's conscious. Her monologue at the end of the first act reveals how well aware she is of the awesome and destructive power these men's knowledge could unleash on the world.

The phantom of atomic power as a weapon hangs over this production thanks to Patrick Calhoun's lighting design. Calhoun also provides the evening with classical musical accompaniment that invokes the academic and European cultural background of both men.

I've long admired Michael Frayn's writing, his ability to take nuanced historical figures and examine their lives and motives with a fresh approach. With Copenhagen, Theater J has done it again - giving DC audiences another thought-provoking must see evening. The questions of moral responsibility and professional resistance remains as poignant now as when Copenhagen first opened on Broadway in 2000 and even when Bohr and Heisenberg met in 1941.

Runtime is two hours and forty minutes

Copenhagen runs thru January 29th at Theater J - 1529 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20036. For tickets please click here or call (202) 518-9400

Photo: Michael Russotto and Tim Getman. Credit: C. Stanley Photography

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