JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG • The Midnight Company

Between 1945 and 1946 in Nuremberg, Germany, prominent Nazi officers were brought to account by the Allied Forces for war crimes after World War II. Abby Mann’s fictionalized account focuses on the 1947 Judges' Trial, one of a string of military tribunals that took place after the major players had been convicted. Adapted from his 1959 teleplay, Mann is able to find the grays in-between the black and white atrocities that took place after the Nazi’s rise. Under the direction of Ellie Schwetye, The Midnight Company’s staging last week at the Missouri History Museum offered not only some strong performances, but also a brutal look at the underside of love of country and the consequences of compliance. And a shock of relevance.

Judge Dan Haywood, played with homespun charm by Joe Hanrahan, wasn’t the tribunal’s first choice for presiding judge. But after a lost re-election bid in North Carolina and the death of his wife, this district court judge found himself in Nuremberg with two other American judges, hearing testimony from key witnesses in the trial of three German judges -- complicit in allowing the law to become bent to serve the Third Reich.

Colonel Tad Parker (Chuck Winning)

and Oscar Rolfe (Cassidy Flynn).

Photo credit: Joey Rumpell

The prosecuting attorney, Colonel Tad Parker (a ferocious Chuck Winning), can barely contain the disgust he feels for the German judges. Defense attorney, Oscar Rolfe (an ardent, curt Cassidy Flynn), valiantly tries to make the case for a patriotic stance against integration, and that if the German judges are guilty, so are the nations that make up the Allied Forces for turning a blind eye.

While in Germany, Judge Haywood is staying in the grand house that used to belong to Frau Margarete Bertholt (Rachel Tibbetts), a German officer’s widow. Soft-spoken and dignified, she insists she knew nothing of the Reich’s barbarity, even as Hitler’s chokehold on the country tightened. Tibbetts does some fine work as Bertholt, who seems like she’s still trying to make sense of what happened in her country, but ruffled and defensive when her late husband’s honor is called into question. Francesca Ferrari is Maria Wallner, a witness whose Jewish friend was killed after they became intimate, and Michael B. Perkins is Rudolph Peterson, who gives harrowing testimony about his forced sterilization. Poignant conversations between the judge and Bertholt, set against chilling witness testimony, illustrate the unsettling truth of how small consents pave the way for ghastly successions.

Judge Dan Haywood (Joe Hanrahan)
and Frau Margarete Bertholt (Rachel Tibbetts).

Photo credit: Joey Rumpell

In addition to these unwavering performances, Steve Callahan does a wonderful job as Ernst Janning, the most prominent of the German judges -- so defiant that he doesn’t even speak to the court to enter a plea, refusing to acknowledge the authority of the tribunal. Later, in an impressive turn, he takes the stand and expresses his heartfelt remorse, hoping to annul his guilt.

Oscar Rolfe (Cassidy Flynn)

and Ernst Janning (Steve Callahan).

Photo credit: Joey Rumpell

Schwetye kept the play focused and moving at a good clip, despite an array of views from several sides, in an impactful evening of terrific theatre.

JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG

Written by Abby Mann

Directed by Ellie Schwetye

Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd.

Run concluded | tickets: $18 - $20

Colonel Tad Parker (Chuck Winning)

and Maria Wallner (Francesca Ferrari).

Photo credit: Joey Rumpell

Cast

General Matthew Merrin: Mark Abels

Colonel Tad Parker: Chuck Winning

Captain Harrison Byers: Jaz Tucker

Judge Dan Haywood: Joe Hanrahan

Judge Curtis Ives: Jack Corey

Judge Ken Norris: Charlie Heuvelman

Emil Hahn: Terry TenBroek

Frederick Hoffstetter: Hal Morgan 

Ernst Janning: Steve Callahan

Oscar Rolfe: Cassidy Flynn

Dr. Karl Wickert: Steve Garrett

Mrs. Habelstadt: Charlotte Dougherty

Frau Margarete Bertholt: Rachel Tibbetts

The cast of Judgment at Nuremberg.

Photo credit: Joey Rumpell

Rudolph Peterson: Michael B. Perkins

Maria Wallner: Francesca Ferrari

Soldier/Waiter: Alex Fyles

Creative

Stage Manager: Beth Equality Van Pelt

Assistant Stage Manager: Alex Fyles

Lighting Designer: Bess Moynihan

Costume Designer: Sarah Porter

Scenic Designer: Jonah Sheckler

Video Designer: Michael B. Perkins

Sound Designer: Ellie Schwetye

Dialect Coach: Pamela Reckamp

Graphic Designer: Dottie Quick

Promotional Photos: Todd Davis

Production Photos: Joey Rumpell