Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

This year is the 100th anniversary of the theory of Relativity. A thrilling production of "Einstein" by Gabriel Emanuel, starring Victor Attar and directed by Howard Rypp is being seen for the first time in New York at LaMaMa E.T.C. Thrilling because from the first moments, we are intrigued by the MAN , we want to know the workings of his mind and what makes him tick.

The play takes place the evening of an event honouring the great scientist and celebrating his 70th birthday in 1949. He is leisurely dressing and ruminates with the audience about his life. First, he must explain relativity to us. And he does, so simply, so elegantly, we could have been in on the discovery. Time and travel at the speed of light and a unified field were a delight but remain a mystery. However, Victor Attar so personifies Albert Einstein, at once childlike and avuncular, that we are engaged to try not just to understand the cosmos but to make sense of a complex world.

Einstein was a committed pacifist but he notes that "scientists belong to the world, except during war" . While his equations were concerned with light and energy, he learns they could also be used to make bombs. In 1939, Germany had been after uranium in the Congo and Einstein wrote to President Roosevelt to stress the urgency of exploring atomic weaponry. Wars can never be humanized but sometimes they must be fought.

In the second act, Einstein returns from his event and has received a telegram from Ben Gurion, of the new state of Israel suggesting that Einstein should be the next prime minister. Einstein shakes his head; he is simple and humble and politics are a momentary thing. Then he remembers his wife's admonition, that he may not believe in countries and borders but other people do.

Clearly as important as his scientific theories are Einstein's thoughts on the human condition, war and peace, religion, science and government. He believes God is subtle but not malicious.

This play is so beautifully crafted and the direction so seamless that one feels they have spent the evening with the Professor in all his simplicity, complexity, humanity, morality and humor.

See it if you can1