Regional

Kindertransport

 (Tiffany Theater, West Hollywood; 99 seats; $ 28 top)

By LISA D. HOROWITZ

Paula Holt, Perla Karney, Patricia L. Glaser in association with Karen Winnick and Jeff Levinson present a drama in two acts by Diane Samuels. Director, Deborah Lavine.
 
Cast: Holland Taylor (Evelyn), Kala Savage (Eva), Jane Kaczmarek (Helga), Elizabeth Hoffman (Lil), Jennifer Crystal (Faith), John Prosky (Man).
 

The names of Anne Frank and Oskar Schindler are known around the world. In the wake of Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List," numerous tales of individual heroism during World War II were told. But less well-known is the Movement for the Care of Children From Germany, a group formed by the British after Kristallnacht to get Jewish children out of Nazi Germany. Diane Samuels explores the effect of this humanitarian gesture on one of those children in her moving, thought-provoking play "Kindertransport."

Samuels was inspired to write her play by the real kinder she encountered in her native England. Sifting through the tangle of emotions is Evelyn (Holland Taylor), who as 9-year-old Eva was sent by her loving mother (Jane Kaczmarek) to live with a family in Manchester. Her history has been entirely suppressed until her daughter Faith (Jennifer Crystal) discovers letters and photos in the attic and starts asking questions.

Shifting back and forth between the experience of young Eva (Kala Savage, utterly convincing) traveling alone to England and Evelyn's effort to cope with the resurgence of her past, the play effectively conveys the anguish on all sides of this family equation.

Upon her arrival in England, Eva is met by Lil (Elizabeth Hoffman), a down-to-earth Mancunian who sees it as her Christian duty to do her best by the little girl. Despite the language barrier, Lil earns Eva's trust, going so far as to help her obtain permits for her parents to come to England.

But as Lil is present, Eva's mother is absent, and the youngster deals with her conflicted loyalties as best she can. However, such submerged emotions are bound to poke through the surface, constantly impinging on the newly christened Evelyn's adult life.

Samuels' play, although it suffers from odd structural choices and occasional obviousness, is quite effective. One feels that the story of the Kindertransport has not been fully told, but this is an excellent attempt to bring it to light.

Director Deborah Lavine ups the melodrama quotient, emphasizing hysterical reactions in a number of scenes. However, the overwrought confrontations seem greatly at odds with the restrained English nature of the women, particularly Lil and Evelyn. Only at the end, when Evelyn finally faces her fears, does her extreme emotional outburst seem appropriate.

Performances generally are fine. As Lil, Hoffman plays well off both Savage and Taylor as her adopted daughter. Savage, a high school senior making her professional debut, shows great promise and versatility. Taylor, at the emotional center of the drama, is touching as a woman whose carefully constructed facade is crumbling. Her stiff upper lip trembles, revealing the turmoil within.

Kaczmarek's perf is especially affecting in the second act. However, the role of Faith, with her thunderously obvious name, is thankless as written, and Crystal does little to improve it; she also doesn't maintain her British accent very well.

John Prosky is excellent as the all-purpose Man, portraying a variety of German and British railroad employees and civil servants with vastly differentiated accents and personalities.

Edward E. Haynes Jr.'s attic set is flexible enough to encompass the numerous shifts in time and place. Ken Booth's lighting effects are particularly strong in scenes involving trains.

Set, Edward E. Haynes Jr.; costumes, Jill Klein; lighting, Ken Booth; sound, Jon Gottlieb. Opens April 25, 1996; reviewed April 19. Running time: 2 hours, 20 min.