"Wittenberg"

September 5, 2017 — Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the wall at Wittenberg University, Hamlet mentions attending Wittenberg in Shakespeare's play, Dr. Faustus was a professor at Wittenberg in Christopher Marlowe's play. These are pretty tenuous connections, two of the three fictional, but playwright David Davalos had the gall to throw these three characters together in his play "Wittenberg" with comic and philosophical success.

The Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire, presented Davalos' play, directed by Keith Stevens, with a fine cast consisting of Chris Mixon as Faustus, Tom Frey as Martin Luther and Jeremy Beck as Hamlet. Mixon is no stranger to "Wittenberg," having appeared in the role of Luther in a 2011 performance in Manhattan. Sara Kennedy, as the Eternal Feminine, plays three female roles. Scenic designer Harry Feiner's interior of a medieval university was a masterpiece.

The play is not as cerebral as you might fear based on the subject matter. Most of us know Martin Luther's theses inspired the Protestant reformation, and if you studied Hamlet in high school you'll get the puns and wordplay. Dr. Faustus, in Davalos' play, dispenses medicine, booze and anti-religious philosophy from his office at Wittenberg University. Faustus and the stern, deeply religious Luther agree on almost nothing, and both try to influence their student, Hamlet, with their conflicting philosophies.

The play is basically a comedy, with witty dialog sprinkled with 21st Century English expressions I'm sure were unknown in 16th Century Germany. But it's also thought-provoking in its debate between religious tradition and science. This was my fifth play at Peterborough Players this season, and a fine season it was for one of the Northeast's premiere summer theaters.