Charges of Nazi collaboration against French play-wright Felicien Marceau today brought the second cancelation by a Jewish women’s organization of theater parties for his play “The Good Soup.”
The continuing controversy about the play, which opened in Washington Monday night and which was scheduled to open in New York on March 2, also evoked a statement from the playwright to producer David Merrick. The playwright, who has consistently denied the charges, promised he would soon send an “extensive statement” to clarify his position.
The American Jewish Committee issued a statement today declaring: “In the absence of persuasive evidence that Marceau’s play ‘The Good Soup,’ whose author is suspected of having been a wartime Nazi collaborator, reflects or promotes his political or ideological beliefs, rejection of the play would not be justified. The play should be judged by its substance and on its artistic merits rather than by its author’s alleged political activities repugnant as they might be. However, we recognize that organizations representing special constituencies may not wish to be regarded as supporting by their group action an author whose convictions which may not be expressed in his writings, they deem obnoxious.”
The Union of American Hebrew Congregations disclosed it had received many inquiries from its members about theater parties for the play and suggested that “The Good Soup” was “frivolous and transitory.” The UAHC comment, made by its vice-president, Rabbi Jay Kaufman, also declared that entertainments should not be judged on the basis of the political affiliations of their creators and that Judaism’s teachings “forbid such trial by boycott.” Rabbi Kaufman also said that “other plays should lay prior claim to the attention of religious and other serious groups.”
The first organization to act was the Westchester Shore section of the National Council of Jewish Women which withdrew from a contract for a theater party. The second organization was the Women’s League for Israel, which canceled two theater parties.
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