Customer Reviews

In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheim (Mermaid Dramabook Series)

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I hold it a kind of honor to be the first to write a review of this on such a large and successful website.
I'll take my honor and hold it close, while I realize it's essential irrelevance....Anyway...
For the unknowing, or the initially curious, In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer; A Play Freely Adapted on the Basis of the Documents, is a good beginning for an understanding of the goings-on in the life of Oppenheimer, "American Prometheus," "Father of the Atomic Bomb," etc., and the inter-personal dramatics that made up the Manhatten Project, aka The Creation of the Atom Bomb.
As a theatre artist, this satisfies as a theatrical piece, as it came about in a volatile time, 1964 it was published in German, 1967-68 in English, when the theatre was actively vocalizing the sentiments of many rebellious/liberal/original/controversial people, and was equally regarded as a place of social significance (this may have since changed).
Using verbatim documentations, as the subtitle says, Kipphardt parsed through thousands of pages for the witness testimony that held the most theatrical and inter-personal weight, in the hearings of Oppenheimer.
In 1954 the Atomic Energy Commission held hearings on Oppenheimer's security clearance, as his past associations with Communists had been reported and his reluctance to support production of the hydrogen bomb was thought to be detrimental to the security and war interests of the country.
Ultimately he was denied a clearance, but no matter, he was disinterested in war projects and went on to stand for nuclear and weapons disarmament.
The above statement is not a reveal, as this is widely known, and it doesn't hinder the experience of the play itself.
What matters here is the presentation of the verbatim transcipts and the monologues of the major players, as a Theatre of Testimony work that used historical data, ala (another German) Peter Weiss' Marat/Sade or Investigation, or Julian Barry's Lenny, to theatricalize both a character and a time/place that had a value beyond it's aparent aim. It also held a level of absurdity that was inspired...
In today's (1/30/7) terrorist fearing America, the Red Scare of the 1950's holds a weight that is illuminating, especially as it targeted one of the era's most influential and remarkable figures.

I've read several books involving this area:
one by a former Russian spy. There seems to be no question
of Robert Oppenheimer's genius as a physicist.
His naivety in political thought is also well documented.
The impression we get in this play is that Oppenheimer
was the victim of the McCarty era witch hunts
for communists in government posts.
What are the facts? That the Soviet union became an atomic power
by using data smuggled out of the USA by Klaus Fuchs.
Oppenheimer followed instead of led the Soviet " World Peace"
line in the late 40's early 50's. My conclusion is that Oppenheimer
was an American Communist who was not as loyal as he would have liked to appear
and also a very brilliant man. He was also the victim of a changing political climate:
it appears when the Republicans come into power there is a tendency for human rights
and security considerations to be in conflict and some of the truth or facts about things
gets distorted. In the late 40's and early 50's Russia actually had developed a better
atomic weapons research program than the USA's on again off again approach.
The Russian organizations were also the best spys the world has ever seen!
Oppenheimer if he had kept his trap shut and head down like Teller,
would have had no trouble.