Looking back to the Spanish Inquisition

Reviewed by Irene Backalenick

March 24, 2010

All the ingredients are there, all themakings for a deeply moving and relevantdrama! Israeli Oren Neeman's playConviction deals with the SpanishInquisition, with Jewish persecution, andwith tracing one's ancestors. The talemoves back and forth in time, fromSalamanca in 1486 to Franco Spain in1962. The cast of characters range frommodern-day Israeli professors andSpanish bureaucrats to long-gone Jewish"Conversos." It deals with the martyrdomof Jews, forced to convert or be exiledor burned at the stake. (And evenconversion did not necessarily save theJews of that era, many of whom practicedJudaism in secret.)

So why doesn't this drama (nowplaying at 59E59 Theaters off-Broadway)work on stage? The story itself, based onYonatan Ben-Nachum's novel Confession,is potentially absorbing. A young Israeliprofessor, Professor Chaim Tal, has stolenan ancient document from the SpanishNational Archives. Before he is throwninto prison for this crime, he isquestioned by the Archives' director.Gradually it comes to light that the stolendocument focuses on a Catholic priest,one Andres Gonzales, who is secretlymarried to the beautiful Jewess, Isabel.And this Gonzales may or may not be theprofessor's direct ancestor.

In this current era of DNA, many of usare caught up in the genealogy craze, and Professor Tal's search is indeed intriguing.But dramatic punch is another matter.The major problem is that the work isstructured as a play within a play withina play. It is three times removed fromthe here and now. Professor Tal looksback at Gonzales' story, while Gonzales,in turn, looks back on his love affair ashe confesses to his priest/mentor JuanDe Salamanca.

Hence, there is no forward movementand no building of dramatic tension asthe story unfolds. One might do better toread this tale on the printed page. Nordoes the competent but hardly dynamiccast add the needed punch. ThoughKevin Hart is competent as both thedirector and Juan, and Catherine Pilafaslends a lyrical touch to her portrayal ofIsabel, Ami Dayan tends to tamp downhis leading roles as the professor andGonzales.

Yet Conviction has an impressive internationalhistory, traveling in varied formatfrom a successful run in Israel to Chicagoto California to Colorado to its currentstaging in New York City. Ami Dayan (acousin of the one-time Israeli GeneralMoshe Dayan) certainly has a stake in thepiece, beyond his performance. He hasplayed it as a one-man show andultimately (with playwright Neeman'sapproval) turned it into its current form.

We would hope that Conviction mightundergo further change, bringing out apotential, which might yet wow New Yorkaudiences.

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