The Oppermanns (excerpt)

Synopsis:

The most extraordinary thing about ‘The Oppermanns’, Lion Feuchtwanger’s long-neglected masterpiece, is that it was written in real time, at a moment in history when reality itself beggared the imagination.

As an internationally acclaimed, German-born, Jewish writer who was openly and loudly critical of the rise of the National Socialists in Germany, he soon found himself to be at the very top of their hit-list and, in 1933, when Hitler came to power, was forced to flee his homeland.

The novel – a lightly fictionalized version of his own family’s struggle for survival in those perilous times – was therefore written very much on the run.

Initially conceived as a screenplay, commissioned by the British government as a propaganda tool to help combat the rise of German militarism, the project itself was shelved when the British decided to pivot instead towards appeasement.

Short on both paper and ink as he made his escape, Feuchtwanger converted the manuscript into a novel – a long series of short, sharp scenes – written in real time over a period of just six months, tracing not only his own journey, but also those of his family, friends and acquaintances as each was sucked into the vortex of the Holocaust.

Character Breakdown:

The play is a 14-hander:  4 females, 10 males

Females:

SYBIL RAUCH  30

LISELOTTE OPPERMANN  43 / ANNA  39 / FRAU ZARNKE (VOICE) 48 – one actor.
EMILIE FRANCOIS  48 / SISTER HELENE  45 / FRAU EHRENREICH  46 / KLARA LAVENDEL  42 – one actor.
MARIE WOLFSOHN  56 / ELLEN ROSENDORFF  48 / GINA OPPERMANN  44 / NURSE  43 / RECEPTIONIST 38 – one actor.

Males:

GUSTAV OPPERMANN  50
MARTIN OPPERMANN  48 / MORITZ EHRENREICH  50 – one actor.
EDGAR OPPERMANN  46 / ALFRED FRANCOIS  58 / ARTHUR MÜHLHEIM  54 / PRISONER – one actor.
JAQUES LAVENDEL 52 / MAN on lamppost / RUDOLPH WEINBERG 46 / HERR ZILCHOW 50 – one actor.
MARKUS WOLFSOHN  55 / SIEGFRIED BRIEGER  50 / PATIENT / DR BILFINGER 40 /GEORG TEIBSCHITZ 49 / PRISONER 42 – one actor.
HEINRICH WELS  50 / RÜDIGER ZARNKE  52 / SCHLÜTER  60 / LORENZ  65 / KOMMANDANT 50 – one actor.
BERND VOGELSANG  35 / KLAUS FRISCHLIN  40 / STORMTROOPER 3 – one actor.
FRIEDRICH GUTWETTER  40 / HANS SCHULZE  45 – one actor.
BERTHOLD OPPERMANN  17 / WERNER RITTERSTEG  17 / STORMTROOPER 2  18 / SS GUARD  20 – one actor.
HEINRICH LAVENDEL  17 / STORMTROOPER 1  20 – one actor.

Running-time:  3 hours 30 minutes + two 15-minute intervals

Production History:  Not yet produced.

Excerpt available for download for free.