Eleanor's Story: An American Girl in Hitler's Germany

This review first appeared on atageraw.com. Eleanor’s Story – An American Girl in Hitler’s Germany Reviewed by Neal Weaver Theatre of NOTE Through June 27 RECOMMENDED: Eleanor and her family were victims of a near-fatal case of bad timing. Her parents had emigrated from Germany, and settled in Stratford, New Jersey, where Eleanor and her brother were born. In the mid-1930s, her father received a job offer that seemed too good to turn down, though it meant returning to Germany for two years. They set off in 1939, only to discover on the boat, halfway to Europe, that Germany had invaded Poland and declared war on England and France. They wanted to return to America immediately, but things got complicated. Mom h... full review

"Eleanor's Story" was a unique WWII true tale. Garner poignantly portrays multiple characters in her grandmother's life as a child to an adolescent in Nazi Germany. An amazing counterpoint to Anne Frank's diary.... full review

I was quick to buy a ticket for this show, because it had the ring of authentic History---and I was not disappointed! Ingrid Garner has skillfully adapted her own grandmother's story of being a child relocated from America to Nazi Germany throughout WWII, and after. She herself plays all the parts, abetted by a rear-projection screen with black-and-white stills of the 1940s. It's a completely riveting hour, although her adaptation didn't answer all of the questions which occurred to me as I was watching it. However, she graciously answered them herself, after the show in the lobby as she was plugging her grandma's own paperback book! Only one thing detracted, markedly: she wore throughout the ugliest dress I've ever seen on ANY stage! It... full review

#SeeItLA - Ingrid Garner pays an incredible homage to her grandmother's story in this production. Eleanor's Story is intense, heart wrenching and beautifully done. Garner embodies each character seamlessly, but it is her portrayal of Eleanor that is simply stunning. As the war drags on, you can actually see Eleanor's innocence slip away ever faster until there is nothing left except for a grim determination to live. This is a beautiful piece, don't miss it!... full review

When you talk about a war not lacking in coverage, WW2 might be the most covered war in America’s history (no actual research on this). Because of this serious saturation of media, we are all very familiar with this time period– Nazis were vicious, Hitler was a huge prick, and there was of course a serious loss of life in the infamous death camps which are now the standard by which many people measure humanity’s capacity for evil. Vitally important stories, but since they are told so often I don’t usually jump at the chance to see another one of these shows. And it occurs to me, do I need to see another WW2 show? Maybe Schindler’s List got it right the first time. It turns out the answer to my question is yes. After watching Ingrid Gar... full review

Ingrid Garner brilliantly creates history through a series of different characters, an 8 year old girl, her stern father, her courageous mother, her smart elder brother and the stern voices of the oppressive regime in Germany under Hitler. Its all true, based on her American grandmother’s memoir of being trapped in Germany throughout World War Two. This young girl’s view of the oppression of the average German people, and their eventual punishment from Allied bombings, creates a sad parallel to Anne Frank’s tragic life-saluting diary. A wonderful one-woman performance that my companion Tricia Stubbs, a former teacher, begs to have performed in all the schools so young people will know this history. The book is ‘An American Girl in Hitler’s G... full review