Judgment at Nuremberg

It is always a gamble to stage a very popular classic film on Broadway, especially when the source material is so time specific. But director John Tillinger and his large cast have made the gamble pay off in this unexciting but refreshingly tasteful and understated adaptation of Abby Mann's Oscar-winning 1961 screenplay. If the production isn't exactly the last word in drama (as reflected by its very poor attendance), it is still an honorable one and nowhere as defeatist or dated as one might assume.

The progress of the story is pretty much the same as in Mann's original text. A courtroom thriller centered on the trial of four German judges accused of crimes against humanity, Nuremberg admirably assumes we already know a little about the incident. It never rubs our face in atrocity to make its point. For a Broadway play on such a hot button piece of history, it is remarkably subdued and, even better, quiet. George Grizzard (in an endearing, marvelously sly performance) plays Judge Haywood, a Southern-tinged North Carolina transport who is called to Germany to preside over the case, argued over by Oscar Rolfe (Michael Hayden), a tenacious young German attorney, and Col. Parker (a fine Robert Foxworth), a gung-ho American military lawyer.

During Judge Haywood's stay, he is befriended by widow Mme. Bertholt (Marthe Keller), whose husband was found guilty in such hearings and tries desperately to get the judge to look into the case again and see beyond the atrocities of the recent past. In an interesting bit of casting, Maximilian Schell (who won an Oscar as Rolfe in the 1961 feature film) plays Ernst Janning, one of the accused judges who refuses to hide behind the facile rationalizations the other judges employ.

Schell doesn't really get too much to do here (his presence is needed mostly for a late-breaking monologue condemning his own actions), and though he still has boundless credibility, he makes less of an impression than his co-stars. Hayden, rather forgettable in Cabaret, is strong as Rolfe, though his accent tends to waver more than the other performers. Grizzard is remarkable as Haywood, his subtle, emotionally sound characterization gives the play a much-needed heroism without ever pandering to the audience. In its large cast, Michael Mastro (so good In Side Man two years back) as a jittery sterilization victim and Patricia Connolly as Haywood's German housekeeper give standout portrayals.

What's best about John Tillinger's direction is its steadiness. With the aid of James Noone's evocative, almost futuristic courtroom set (which makes the case that this can happen anywhere, at any time), Tillinger doesn't raise the pulse of the material in a way that's always dramatically satisfying, but he never pushes it past a limit that would lose the audience either. In one quite well-done bit, Col. Parker shows gruesome Holocaust tapes to the jury, and from our view they are obstructed by the fragmented set, using the power of suggestion to make its point -- very noteworthy for a play with such subject matter.

Even as I write this review, the show is dying on Broadway (recent reports have cited a depressing 41% attendance rate), showing that theater patrons care little for Holocaust-themed dramas on stage. Truth be told, Judgment isn't the best thing you can see lately yet still deserves much better -- far more than lesser works that still clog good theaters.