THEATRE + COMEDY

Holocaust Museum Houston and Theatre New West will come together this Spring to present the internationally renowned play The Timekeepers,  by Dan Clancy, the psychodrama of a Jewish watchmaker and a homosexual thrown together as victims in a Nazi concentration camp.

Directed by Houston’s own Joe Watts, the play will be presented in the Museum’s Herzstein Theater at the Morgan Family Center, 5401 Caroline St., in Houston’s Museum District. The play will run from April 23 through May 23, on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m. There is no performance on Saturday May 2. One Sunday performance is scheduled for 6 p.m. May 17. Tickets are $20 each.

“The Timekeepers” debuted in 2001 in London and in Tel Aviv in 2002. The drama unfolds offering a candid view of the evolving friendship of two dissimilar characters who find commonality in their love of opera music while trying to survive in the surroundings of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany.

THE TIMEKEEPERS, by Dan Clancy-an uplifting tale of transcendence in the midst of a world gone mad. This award winning play has played in London, Israel, Ireland, Canada, Poland, Germany and New York, and has garnered rave reviews. It is a beautiful, intense piece of theater that manages to combine humor and poignancy with remarkable skill. Set at Sachsenhausen concentration camp in World War II Germany, a Jewish prisoner and a homosexual prisoner are thrown together in dire circumstances. Their wicked sense of humor, vast differences and passionate love for opera take them to rich, rarely explored territory.

Benjamin, the imprisoned Jewish watchmaker played by Taavi Mark, initially displays an aloof demeanor toward Hans, the bombastic homosexual prisoner played by Lance Marshall, who fervently wants to learn the watch-repair trade as a way to survive by working in the camp. The two almost stereotypical roles eventually reveal an underlying complexity of character as their camaraderie develops.

Homosexuals were arrested and made to toil at work camps prior to the genocide of Jews, gypsies and the handicapped. They continued to be imprisoned even after the Third Reich fell, and the camps were liberated. This imprisonment was part of a ruthless Nazi campaign waged from 1933 to 1945 against those deemed as “enemies of the state.”

Marshall recently returned to Houston after a brief stint in New York City, where he starred in the Milk Can Theatre Company’s production of “Running.” Marshall also starred as Queenie in the Cabaret “Gay Pride” with the Don’t Tell Mama Theatre and the Duplex Theatre. His television credits include “Law and Order,” “Gossip Girl,” “Lipstick Jungle,” “Life on Mars” and “Cashmere Jungle.”

Mark has acted on stage for more than 30 years on the East and West Coasts. This play will be his seventh with Theatre New West. Mark also performed in the previous Houston production of “Bent” at Holocaust Museum Houston, starring as Uncle Freddy and the captain. Other Houston productions he has participated in include “Witness for the Prosecution” with the Alley Theatre, “Proof” with the Theatre Southwest, “Balm of Gilead” with the Backporch Players and “Book of Liz” with the Theatre Lab.

The previous production of “Bent” sold out each performance, and drew rave reviews of both the performance and Watts’ direction. In its review, The Houston Press wrote, “Presented in the quasi-sacred space of Holocaust Museum Houston, Sherman’s emotionally draining drama reverberates with seriousness and power. In the intimate stage space, the wire-tight tension feels physically present.”

Tickets to “The Timekeepers” may be purchased at the door, but seating is limited and advance reservations are strongly encouraged. All seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations can be made by calling Theatre New West at 713-522-2204.

Holocaust Museum Houston is dedicated to educating people about the Holocaust, remembering the 6 million Jews and other innocent victims and honoring the survivors' legacy. Using the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides, the Museum teaches the dangers of hatred, prejudice and apathy. Holocaust Museum Houston is free and open to the public and is located in Houston’s Museum District at 5401 Caroline St., Houston, TX 77004. For more information about the Museum, call 713-942-8000 or visit www.hmh.org.