FRANCESKA'S LEGACY // A THEATRE REVIEW OF "THE FINAL VEIL"

BY MATEO MORENO

Franceska Mann was a Polish Jewish dancer who, in the late 1930's was considered one of the most promising dancers of her era. Her story, which has not often been told, is a bit shrouded in mystery, especially her final days. What we believed happened is that she boarded a train, along with 1,800 or so others, and they all were fooled into thinking that the train was leading them to freedom, as part of an exchange for German POW's. Instead, they were lead to Auschwitz. From that point, it gets a little hazy and since everyone who witnessed the next moments were killed, it makes sense that the stories slightly vary on what happened. The most popular story tells that they were told to undress and at that point, Mann noticed two soldiers ogling her. She then began a sudden, slow and seductive striptease. The men were transfixed, unsure of exactly what to do as she stripped down to everything but her heels. Suddenly, she took one heel and struck one SS officer in the head, stealing his gun. She fired and killed a soldier and injured another, who's injury would stay with him for the rest of his life. A riot ensued and more soldiers were called. Machine guns fired and everyone was killed, including Mann.

How this story isn't more widely known is a mystery, but Mann gets her story told now in the new movement opera THE FINAL VEIL. Created by Cassandra Rosebeetle (who also co-choreographs and stars) and JL Marlor (who wrote the score and libretto), The Final Veil tells Mann's story through song and dance over the course of 60 minutes. The result is an often breathtaking and emotional piece of art that has sold out its entire run. With a four person string quartet, four singers and four dancers (including Rosebeetle), a kind of broken beauty is created on stage. It's an especially intimate experience at The Cell, where the audience is only a few feet away from all of the action on stage and thrust into the mist and stage smoke floating around the tiny space. The use of live singers and a four person quartet among the dancers truly enhanced the experience. The four singers (Katie Lipow, Abagael Cheng, Heather Michele, Katherine Lerner Lee) make up a haunting chamber sound, acting as the structure of the story & Mann's own inner monologue while the music and dance paint the picture. The four dancers are equally impressive and each have their own standout moments.

Rosebettle, as Franceska Mann herself, is devastating and magnetic. She begins the evening as a literal corpse, riddled with bullets and on display, starting the evening off in a very haunting fashion. We then travel back with her as she performs to adoring fans to her eventual fate within the Warsaw Ghetto and then into her final horrifying moments of life. Due to the lack of a large playing space, the choreography seems simplified but is none the less effective. The story that is told through the dance, song and movement is quite moving and although the intimacy forces the audience to not take their eyes off the action, I do yearn for a production with a much larger stage to truly let Rosebeetle, her co-choreographer Katherine Crockett and the rest of the dancers truly move across the stage while incorporating a bit more complex staging and choreography. As it stands, this production of The Final Veil is a worthy and honorable tribute to Mann and a reminder of the horrors of the past, horrors that are sadly not in the past at all.

GRADE: A-

CREATED BY Cassandra Rosebeetle and JL Marlor SCORE AND LIBRETTO BY JM Marlor ADDITIONAL TEXT/DRAMATURGY BY Kate Mulley DIRECTED BY Cassandra Rosebeetle CHOREOGRAPHED BY Katherine Crockett, Cassandra Rosebeetle FEATURING Cassandra Rosebeetle, Hallie Chametzky, Lauren Pagano, Lauren Barette, Katie Liptow, Abagael Cheng, Heather Michele, Katherine Lerner Lee. PLAYING NOW THROUGH JULY 31st AT THE CELL (338 W 23RD STREET, NYC). FOR MORE INFO: THE FINAL VEIL