By Jason Hagey and Alisha Hagey
In 2017, J.T. Rogers’ Oslo won the Tony for Best Play. Only a year later, Utah is the lucky recipient of a run at the Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City. Oslo is an examination of the negotiations that led to the 1993 Israeli-Palestinian peace accords. But the play is so much more than mere examination of those negotiations. The characters are striking and incredibly human, the charm and the frustration of being in our modern world comes out in subtle and lovely ways, and the whole play clips along with such a beautiful pacing that three hours (and two intermissions) later you feel like the time was well spent and so much better than spending the same time watching one of the Lord of the Rings extended edition films or the newest Avengers movie.
These two arch-enemies were heralding peace between Israel and Palestine. But what got them to this point? It has been called the “Oslo process” and “Oslo Accords” because of secret meetings in Oslo that were based on building a sense of friendship and trust first, and allowing for gradual connection between the negotiators rather than the usual moderator-ruled negotiations.
We experience, as the process unfolds, characters meeting their enemies, becoming friends, and facing the violent sentiments they have for one another. As we connect with the characters, we grow to love them, to care about their individual and societal concerns, and we subtly grow in hope. Playwright J.T. Rogers writes with wizardry; the flow of events and dialogue are magical. He takes what many would consider a stuffy, politically-charged piece of history and elevates it into a thriller, all the while entertaining and engaging the audience. I was spellbound, riveted throughout the duration.
Kate Middleton (Mona Juul) and Jeff Talbott (Terje Rød-Larsen) are the heart of this production, their characters leading the secret negotiations (as their real-life counterparts did). They are not only characters but they act as the audience’s guide to what is going on, who the players are, and they help us understand some of the reasoning behind Rød-Larsen’s methodology for negotiation. Most importantly, they are the unsung heroes, the text having them both say, “Remember, this is not about you.” Middleton and Talbott are the perfect hosts to their audience, their genuineness coming through with every line, every glance between them, and their emphatic belief in a more optimistic future leads us to believe in the best for humanity.
While Middleton and Talbott are the show’s heart, the soul of the piece is the following actors: Neal Benari (Yair Hirschfeld/Shimon Peres), Ben Cherry (Uri Savir), Demosthenes Chrysan (Ahmed Qurie), Thamer Jendoubi (Hassan Asfour), and Max Woertendyke (Jan Egeland/Ron Pundak). One cannot be named without the other. These are the negotiators, and these are the characters whose bonds of friendship – and they do a fantastic job of portraying this bond – make the show as powerful as it is. By the end, their onstage relationships develop and mature and they feel like people you know and love in your own life. Each character is well-rounded, believable, and authentic. This production hinges on their relationships and they feel real.
A beautiful stroke of genius on the part of the playwright, the director, and the actors themselves is the inclusion of the security detail played by Patrick Kintz (Trond Gunderson) and John Terrell (Thor Bjornevog/Ensemble). These two start out as the stereotypical (on a comic level) secret service-type security specialists, with their encyclopedic knowledge of those they are protecting, and soon become humanized and part of the group. Without Kintz and Terrell’s comic timing and experience with dramatic roles, their characters could easily have been two-dimensional. Instead, they are as human as the negotiators and would have been sorely missed if Rogers decided to neglect them. According to the script, they are real people and they are played as real people. It is refreshing.
Karen Azenberg (Director and Artist Director) leads the current season. In previous years PTC has begun with a musical but for this season and last year’s season, Azenberg has taken the helm and set the tone by directing dynamic dramas that are stirring and still approachable. There is a skill in knowing how to create stage pictures, how to navigate tension (and to alleviate it). Then of course there is the balance with knowing how much allowance to give your designers and actors without running amuck. Azenberg has done nothing but improve during her tenure as Artistic Director. Tonight she created clear lines, visible connections, brought out the humanity within a difficult text, allowed humor to breathe life into a dark situation, and engaged the audience with all our senses. Having seen many of these performers in previous productions over the years, I marveled at the nuance and originality she took from familiar faces. This shows a trust between actor and director that isn’t easily achieved. As well, there is a clear vision that keeps clutter down so the audience can focus on the text and meat of the show. Azenberg doesn’t rely on over-design or obvious choices. She makes the audience meet her and the cast in the middle, creating a stronger connection to the narrative as a whole.
Daniel Meeker (Scenic and Lighting Designer) uses a great deal of restraint. I imagine this show would be easy to turn into a spectacle. Instead, Meeker has created a stage that can quickly and effectively change location to location and country to country, while maintaining beauty and majesty. The lights perfectly play off the building facades and the set pieces are easily transported into whatever they need to be. Even though the show is set in the 90’s, there is a classic sense of the line that makes it feel present day. This feature engaged me from the first. I felt a part of the environment and a part of the story, in large part due to the design.
Leon Wiebers (Costume Designer), like his other fellow designers, also shows great restraint. Stereotypes are not played up to but instead we see men and women, all mostly deeply entrenched in politics, who feel like they could be out canvassing today (mixed with a few quintessential pieces that were very much of the time). He seems to have had the most fun when designing for our two economics professors and for the Uri Savir character, mixing statesman and rock star. When you see the production, watch for his understated use of color to connect the characters visually.
I feel a special commendation needs to go to Sarah Shippobotham (Dialect Coach). It isn’t often in Utah that we are treated to a feast of vowel sounds in quite this manner. Shippobotham does a marvelous job leading the cast through the intricacies of the various languages and countries.
Early on in the production Terje Rød-Larsen says, “But if you succeed, you will change the world.” He says this while trying to convince his wife to join him in this crazy idea, this tilting at windmills, to aid in the negotiations of legitimate peace talks between two warring nations. This is the theme, the goal, the ultimate call of hope that echoes in every character yearning for home. There is a moment where one party refuses to be referred to as terrorists. It is the very idea that we need to look past old grievances, or even current ills, to see the people around us as people, that makes this idea of stereotypes so important. If we can succeed, even for a small period of time in brokering peace and friendship with those around us, how rich will be our experiences. Pioneer’s Oslo is timely, even 25 years after those secret meetings, in reminding us that there is more to be found in our similarities than in our differences, despite race, religion, or political divide.
Pioneer Theatre Company presents Oslo by J.T. Rogers
Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 300 S. 1400 East, Salt Lake City, Utah on the University of Utah Campus, 84112
Sept. 14-29, 7:00 PM Monday-Thursday, 7:30 PM Friday- Saturday, 2:00 PM Saturday matinee
Tickets: $30-$45
Contact: 801-335-4565
Approximate running time: 3 hours
Please be aware that children under five years old will not be admitted to any performance.
Oslo contains strong language, including several instances of the F-word, that would make it consistent with an R-rated film.
There will be an Oslo talkback with J.T. Rogers and Doug Fabrizio (NPR’s RadioWest host) on September 22nd following the matinee performance. They expect this to begin by 5:00pm and ask that you arrive early. This is a free event to the public.
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