Seeing our times in ‘Watch’

It’s hard to ignore trouble once it has made itself comfortable in your living room, playing leisurely games of cribbage and helping itself to sweets from your candy dish.

When Lillian Hellman’s “Watch on the Rhine” opened on Broadway on April 1, 1941, it gave human form to the fascist menace in Europe and, quite literally, brought the problem home. The action took place in a house just outside Washington, D.C., where a Nazi-friendly blackmailer threatened the future of a European American family. The image was calculated to rattle Hellman’s fellow Americans, many of whom still believed the United States could remain uninvolved.

Today, this famously pro-war drama -- so closely linked to its time -- is rarely performed. Intriguingly, though, it has shown up as part of the summer repertory season at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, which just a year ago presented an outspoken update of Aristophanes’ classic antiwar play, “Lysistrata.”

Is this a turnaround? Or is something else going on?

One hint lies in the director’s notes printed in the program, where Heidi Helen Davis quickly opens Hellman’s tale to broader interpretations. “This beautiful play,” she writes, “calls to attention the need to be vigilant and concerned with the world as a place that we all share and must love. ‘Watch on the Rhine’ means keeping watch on a part of the world that is going mad.”

Exactly what constitutes madness in today’s world Davis wisely leaves unspecified. Although “Lysistrata,” adapted by Theatricum powerhouse Ellen Geer and also directed by Davis, tended to shout its opinions, “Watch on the Rhine” quietly holds a mirror to human behavior and lets theatergoers judge for themselves.

The story takes place in late spring of 1940, in the home of Fanny Farrelly (Geer), an imperious chatterbox whose late husband was a lawyer and diplomat. The stage of the outdoor amphitheater has been set with handsome period furniture and fragile, expensive-looking ornaments, providing a backdrop of careless comfort.

For the first time in many years, Fanny is being visited by her daughter, Sara (Melora Marshall), who has been living overseas with a German husband, Kurt (Jeff Bergquist), and their three children. Kurt turns out to be a high-ranking member of an anti-fascist group, in danger of torture and worse if the Nazis get hold of him.

As fate would have it, Fanny also has opened her home to Marthe (Abby Craden), the daughter of a friend, and Marthe’s no-account Romanian count of a husband, Teck (Ted Barton). When Teck gets wind of Kurt’s identity, he threatens to reveal it to some Nazi card-playing buddies.

Faced with this tricky situation, Fanny’s son (Chad Jason Scheppner) immediately squares his shoulders and clenches his fists -- demonstrating the American propensity to hit first and ask questions later. He is a potentially dangerous combination of naivete and arrogance; Kurt, the figure of levelheaded personal responsibility, gently but firmly intercedes. There is much to read between the lines, and Davis’ direction subtly guides viewers to it.

Bad accents, too-low speaking volume and a handful of less than fully realized performances marred Saturday’s opening performance. Yet by the end, sniffles could be heard throughout the amphitheater.

Is this the desired reaction? Perhaps not, for tears may indicate that spectators are caught up in memories of what the past wrought upon families such as Kurt and Sara’s, rather than comprehending the story in present-day terms and being fired with resolve to go out and change things.

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‘Watch on the Rhine’

Where: Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga

When: 8 p.m. Saturdays through Sept. 25; 7:30 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 29. Also 3 p.m. Sept. 4, 11, 18 and Oct. 3, 10 and 16

Ends: Oct. 16

Price: $14 and $25

Contact: (310) 455-3723

Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes