Staged Readings of 2 One-Act Plays about Einstein

Lauren Gunderson

MONDAY, April 18, 2005, 6 PM; The Graduate Center, Elebash Recital Hall. Free

Staged Readings of 2 One-Act Plays about Einstein

Mass, by playwright Lauren Gunderson; Performed by Break A Leg
Productions

Synopsis: A one-woman show about Einstein's daughter Lieserl. It's a really beautiful piece that uses the ideas in special relativity and Brownian motion and even some early quantum mechanics to describe Lieserl's journey to find and recognize her father. It's not harsh, but is really tender and... well kind of sad.

The Day Einstein Died, by playwright J. B. Edwards; Performed by Third Avenue Productions

Synopsis: The play is set on April 18, 1955, the day Albert Einstein died in Princeton, New Jersey. The "day" is really the telescoped highlights of his final years. His long time friend and intimate,
Johanna Fantova is at his side throughout the play talking to him with the gentleness and warmth that every man wants from a woman. With her we see the emotional life and the personal doubts and troubles of this famous public man. The other character in this play is the great actor and social activist Paul Robeson. He gives fire to the story as he engages his friend Einstein in several of the controversies in which he played so prominent a role, particularly the fight for equality of black
people in this country and the settlement of the displaced Jews of Europe. Einstein and Robeson, although from entirely different worlds, share a passion for music and social justice. Set fifty years ago, we see that the world affairs that Einstein and Robeson struggled with are exactly mirrored in present day events.