How do we honor our past without closing doors to the future? What do we owe our parents and grandparents, when weighed against the prospects of our children and their children?
These wrenching questions lie at the heart of Studio Theatre’s arresting production of Steven Levenson’s If I Forget. The talented cast charts the Fischer family’s explosive reckoning with their shared Jewish history, weaving themes of religion, politics, trauma, and moral failures into two-plus hours of searing emotion and dark humor. It left me rattled, and I’m sure I’m not alone.
Bethesda native Levenson set his family drama right down the road in Tenleytown, at the close of the July 2000 Camp David peace talks. As the Camp David summit comes to its ignominous end, the three grown Fischer siblings descend on their childhood home to celebrate their father’s 75th birthday. Set designer Debra Booth’s simple yet effective two-room set presents a classic suburban tableau, which belies the explosive drama yet to unfold.
The play opens with Jewish studies professor Michael Fischer (the fiery Jonathan Goldstein) and wife Ellen (Julie-Ann Elliott) training in from New York. Upon arrival, they discuss their fears and hopes for their daughter Abby, who is currently away on a Birthright trip to Jersusalem. Ellen’s support and Michael’s unease over the growing role of Judaism in Abby’s life foreshadow larger ideological fissures yet to emerge.
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Michael’s quick-witted sister Holly (the delightful Susan Rome) and gregarious husband Howard (Paul Morella) appear, revealing a believable sibling bond and practiced chemistry between Rome and Goldstein. You immediately want to root for their family even as they squabble over the fate of their family’s store, not to mention the proper role of Judaism in modern life. On the afternoon I attended, Goldstein struggled initially with his lines in the full family scene, before finding his groove after 25 minutes. That was welcome news, due to his unofficial role as family lecturer in chief.
Robin Abramson soon makes a spirited entrance as the youngest Fischer, Sharon. Siblings Sharon and Michael connect in a touching, authentic exchange regarding the passing of their mother. It’s a credit to actors Abramson and Goldstein, not to mention to director Matt Torney, that their relationship feels so lived in right off the bat. But Michael’s discussion of his polemical book on active detachment from Jewish history quickly causes friction, and Sharon registers a furious dissent. The argument continues as they migrate downstairs to the dinner table, where the whole family assembles for the first time. Michael defends his controversial thesis in a fiery speech that largely falls on deaf ears.
After the gathering dissolves, family patriarch Lou (the captivating Richard Fancy) shares his own perspective on the question of history, forged as a Jewish American GI in World War II. Veteran actor Fancy narrates Lou’s utterly chilling story of liberating Dachau with slow-burn intensity, slowly but surely pulling the audience deep into a world of wartime horrors. The message? Sometimes, you simply can’t afford to forget or forgive. It’s far and away the most powerful sequence in a play full of Tony Award-caliber exchanges.
As the Fischer family hurtles into the uneasy future of the Bush II presidency and Second Intifada, they confront compounding misery and confrontation over their father’s failing health and the fate of their family’s store. For some, the store represents an untouchable legacy; for others, it represents a much needed financial lifeline. Levenson and director Matt Torney paint a strikingly realistic picture of sibling rivalry and chaos under pressure from family crisis. At times, the relentless twists have the forced feel of a soap opera plot, but the play’s sublime closing scene more than makes up for it. David Lynch himself would have been proud of Torney’s dreamlike visuals and storytelling in the closing minutes.
In the end, Levenson declines to provide a definitive answer to the question, “Is the past truly a warm blanket – or a millstone around our necks?” This ultimate detachment and open ended approach makes If I Forget all the more satisfying and realistic. The Fischers’ tale reminds us that in lieu of perfect answers, we’re often stuck making imperfect moral compromises, simply to fight another day. And most of the time, that’s good enough. It has to be.
If I Forget by Steven Levenson . Directed by Matt Torney . Featuring Julie-Ann Elliott, Jonathan Goldstein, Susan Rome, Paul Morella, Joshua Otten, Robin Ambramson, and Richard Fancy . Set Design by Debra Booth . Costume Design by Helen Wang . Lighting Design by Michael Giannitti . Sound Design by Nick Kourtides . Projection Direction by Josh Escajeda . Produced by Studio Theatre . Reviewed by Ben Demers.
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