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Measure of a Man by Brian
C. Petti ISBN #1-933159-94-4
JAC #2008-0004
The Cast
- MAX SCHMELING: Mid-30s, plays early
60s; handsome, cosmopolitan, reserved German boxer, careful in his
boxing approach and his approach to situations, but immensely capable
- JOSEPH GOEBBELS: Mid-30s;
manipulative, dangerous Nazi Propaganda Minister, slight of build but
willing to exercise the power of his position
- GEORGE GROSZ: Late 40s; foremost
German artist of the 1920s and ‘30s, tries to find artistic truth in the
midst of the increasingly dangerous Nazi regime
- ANNY ONDRA: Late 20s to early 30s;
glamorous Czech actress and embodiment of the artistically and
intellectually daring Roaring Twenties in Berlin, Schmeling’s wife
- JOE JACOBS: Early 40s; connected
New York boxing manager of Hungarian-Jewish descent, funny,
gesticulating, cigar-chomping first generation American
- JOE LOUIS: Early 20s, also plays
late 50s; strong, imposing African American athlete who falls upon hard
times in his post-boxing life
- ENGLISHMAN: Mid 20s; English
soldier Schmeling bonds with while escorting to field hospital
- HENRI LEWIN: 60+; elderly Jewish
hotelier who champions Schmeling’s heroism during Kristallnact
- REPORTER: Various ages; recurring
character who stokes rivalry between Schmeling and Louis, challenges
Jacobs and questions Lewin’s estimation of Schmeling’s legacy
- OTHER ROLES:
- The Lewin brothers as children (ages 9 and 13)
- Clerk (various age)
- Announcer (offstage)
- Photographers
- Bartender (various age)
NOTE: Englishman can double as Clerk, any offstage
actor can double as Announcer, and offstage actors can double as
photographers.
Synopsis
German boxer Max Schmeling uses his
experience and guile to pull off the upset and prevail over contenders,
including the Nazi regime. Though Joseph Goebbels seems at the helm of
Schmeling’s life, their plight becomes a matter of Nazi vs. American, black
against white and good against evil.
In life, and even in death, Max Schmeling was plagued by his association
with the Nazi regime. Follow Schmeling through his time served in the German
army, through his relationship with his wife, Anny, through his lifetime
with fellow boxing colleagues Joe Louis and Joe Jacobs, as well as many
others whose lives he touched. As the reporter herein considers how to write
Schmeling’s obituary, the last word goes to Joe Jacobs, who maintains that
Schmeling was no Nazi, as the two, German and Jew, walk off together into
history.
 Playwright Biography
Brian C. Petti has been
produced Off-Off Broadway (Masquerade, Before the Parade Passes By,
Hindenburg-the Musical) and regionally (Next Year in Jerusalem, The
Measure of a Man, On the Expectation of White Christmases) by such
companies as Ten Grand Productions, The American Theater of Actors, Inc. and
The Duplex Cabaret. Masquerade was staged at Cherry Lane Theater in
NYC and Next Year in Jerusalem was the winner of the Humboldt State
University National Play Contest in California, where it received a student
production. Visit Brian C. Petti's blog
at
Pettiplays,
or review his other works on
Doolee.com.
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