Rogue Machine Introduces L.A.’s First Run of H*tler’s Tasters. Written by Michelle Kholos Brooks. Directed by Sarah Norris. Produced by Guillermo Cienfuegos and Lexi Sloan.
A Rogue Machine Production.
Based on Margot Wölk‘s account, H*tler’s Tasters is the little-known story of the girls used by Hitler to taste his food. Afraid to be poisoned, he recruited young girls of good German stock to try the same food he was about to eat. During a time of famine in Germany, eating three times a day wasn’t that bad after all. But at what cost?
Hilda (Olivia Gill), Anna (Ali Axelrad), and Liesel (Paige Simunovich) are inside a room waiting for the food to arrive. To fight boredom, they take selfies, sing, and talk about the guards. For Playwright Michelle Kholos Brooks, the use of cell phones is a way to make these characters feel more present.
Hitler was vegetarian, so the girls didn’t eat meat, an apparent benefit for their weight control. Brooks incorporates other elements to connect the characters to their function. For many women, their relationship with food is complicated, especially for the younger crowd. Food is a basic impulse, but due to the relationship with weight control and consequently with their looks, it becomes emotional. For the characters in Brooks’ story, eating vegetables with rice and pasta is not only a devoted service to the Reich but also a benefit to their health. But again, that relationship is complicated, so the girls also crave meat.
The stress is not only related to the fact that one meal could be the last one. There are many more things in the story that reflect German society during the Third Reich. Anna for example, talks about her relationship with a Jewish family, something with which Hilda takes issue. As a result of the divisive environment and the narrative of a superior Aryan race imprinted in the Nuremberg Race Law, a relationship with a Jew was seen as a betrayal. According to the Nazis, those relationships were suspicious. That created a web of informants that turned people in to the Gestapo for questioning, torture, imprisonment, and maybe even death. In the play, Anna’s fate becomes an open question.
Even though there are very little historical details about the real life tasters, Brooks gives a face to those girls. They each have a unique background and personality. Hilda is the daughter of an officer and she is the staunchest supporter of the Reich. Anna was used by a soldier for sex and to be recruited as a taster. Liesel has a relative that moved to Pittsburgh and tells her about American movies. And then there’s Margot (Caitlin Zambito), a girl who thinks she was recruited to work as a typist. She’s upbeat and replaces Anna. All of the characters show their admiration to Hitler and even fantasize about a relationship with him. Eventually, however, reality sets in.
The acting is on point. The actresses do a great job delivering their lines convincingly. Zambito gives a shot at another interesting role (she also did a fantastic job in The Thin Place) and creates a character with hopes and joyfulness typical of a young girl that ends up succumbing to the institutionalization of her mind and body.
With talented actresses and an intriguing subject matter, Director Sarah Norris delivers an entertaining production that blends drama, music, and comedy. The choice of stage goes well with the subject as well. It’s intimate and claustrophobic, reflecting the nerve-wracking ambient in which the girls wait for the next meal that could be the last one, every single time.
H*tler’s Tasters
Rogue Machine (Upstairs at the Henry Murray Stage in the Matrix Theatre)
7657 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046
April 27, 2024 – June 3, 2024
8pm Fridays, Mondays; 5pm Saturdays; 7pm Sundays
(no performances on Monday, April 29, May 13)
Tickets: roguemachinetheatre.org
Written by Michelle Kholos Brooks. Directed by Sarah Norris. Produced by Guillermo Cienfuegos and Lexi Sloan.
A Rogue Machine Production.
Cast: Ali Axelrad (Anna), Olivia Gill (Hilda), Paige Simunovich (Liesel), Caitlin Zambito
(Margot).
Creative team: Joe McClean and Dane Bowman (Scenic & Lighting Design), Ashleigh Poteat (Costume Design), Christine Cover Ferro (Costume coordinator), Chris Moscatiello (Sound consultant), Carsen Joenk (Sound Design), Ashlee Wasmund (Choreographer), Emmy Frevele (Choreography for Rogue Machine).
