Jumping between two Jewish families in 1930's Berlin & present day New York I felt that, especially in the first half, the play was a bit predictable in the 1930's bits, the usual predictable nasty Nazi's, yes it was terrible what happened but it's been done so often before that it'd be good to see the occasional positive thing about Germany. After all at the end of the second world war Germany was in ruins and split in two and they built the more prosperous liberal democracy in Europe, a remarkable achievement. Unfortunately the success of a society built on humane values is boring so all we get is the Nazi's. I found that when the play jumpede to the present day it became more innovative and interesting.
In the second half the family is sent to a concentration camp where they all subsequently die and is without doubt moving and also more interesting with more exploration of racial issues. The modern day family however has become a bit of a cliché, a brother with crack habit, tick; gay, tick; inter-racial marriage, tick but the issues are explored in an amusing way which grabbed and kept the attention.
At times it felt as if there too much in the play but it moved along at a good tempo, it was inventive and funny. The acting was good with everyone giving good performances; all in all an enjoyable evening.
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