A: Is for art that begs us to heed its words

Arthur Miller is one of the worlds greatest playwrights and in seeing The Actors Company's (TACT) Production of Incident at Vichy, it is easy to see why. Miller uses time periods in history to make us see what is relevant today. To open our eyes to the horror which is humanity and to offer hope. As the play starts we are lead into flashbacks like a nightmare coming to life. First one man appears, then three, until nine men from different backgrounds are on a bench in a holding room in Vichy, France. It is 1942. As they talk, Miller examines ordinary men, who become victims, immobilized with fear when faced with a truth that is inconceivable. Refusing to believe that such behavior can possibly exist in a civilized world, they question everything but what the reality in front of them. The Nazi captain who serves an ideology, lives with an abstract concept of "there are no persons anymore." He begins to question his own role as he learns what is expected. As the truth comes out, about what is awaiting them denial sets in. We've all wondered how this could of happened, and this is how. And it is how it will happen again. In The TACT production the acting is consistent, however Mark Alhadeff as the painter, Lebeau and Jeffery C Hawkins as Professor Hoffman fail to illicit an emotional sympathetic responses. Standouts include Ron MaClary as Baynard, Jack Koenig as Major and Todd Gearhart as Von Burg. The scene between the Major and The Professor is breathtakingly honest, chillingly illuminating the mindset that was happening. The set by Scott Bradley and lights by Mary Louise Gieiger set the terror history revealed. The direction by Scott Allan Evans is honest and lets Millers words do what they do best sink into our skins like shards of glass. Miller write this play (1964) not about the holocaust trying to understand the McCarthy era which had just happened. Miller understood that it was just the tip of the iceberg. Incident at Vichy is playing at The Beckett 410 West 42nd Street  Monday and Wednesday-Friday at 7:30 PM; Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM; Sunday at 3 PM. Tickets are $26.25-$56.25 and are available through Ticket Central at www.ticketcentral.com. This is a play that is relevant to today and that is a F.A.C.T.