When you consider the numerous dramatizations of the development of the atom bomb (Fail Safe, Dr. Strangelove, Insignificance…) and the profound ethical questions raised, Mark Oristano’s The Impact of the Gadget on Civilization is a brilliant example of distillation, brevity and nuanced intensity. His strategy of creating a dialectic between Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer, efficiently and thoughtfully takes us to the heart of the matter. Oppenheimer invites Einstein (his old friend) to elicit his help with the Manhattan Project, the notorious codename for the development of nuclear weapons. It’s clear that Oppenheimer’s been been enlisted to persuade Doctor Einstein to lend a hand, as the countless scientists, experts and soldiers are, ironically, stuck.
It’s also clear by the nature of Oppenheimer’s pitch, that something’s up. He speaks with a certain finality, as if the points he makes are without question. As if he’s concealing something. For a fellow scientist, his explanations seem a bit thin and simplistic. Einstein, by contrast, comes from a place of healthy skepticism. (There’s a reason why the title refers to the bomb as a “gadget”.) He makes congenial jabs at Oppenheimer, offering clarifications and distinctions, never being contentious. Oppenheimer deals in hypotheticals and moral relativism. Maddening examples like torture for the sake of saving lives. If this situation ever occurs, wouldn’t you say anything to stop the agony? True or not? Oppenheimer doesn’t use that particular paradigm, but instead, suggests that the bomb will end the war far more efficiently, sparing American lives. As if Japanese lives are worthless.
Oristano deals in complex characters, but essentially Einstein argues on the side of mercy and humanity, and Oppenheimer, Draconian expediency. A tacit urgency seems to drive Oppenheimer (and perhaps guilt). Einstein is cool and patient, confident in his position. T. A. Taylor’s Einstein is beautifully realized, as well as Evan Michael Woods’ Oppenheimer. David Saldivar plays Corporal Goodman, supporting the narrative and Taylor and Evans. There is a melancholy music (Tanner Peterson) that weaves through this drama, reminding us that Oristano’s script transcends the match of wits by two great minds.
IMPRINT TheatreWorkspresents: The Impact of the Gadget on Civilization, streaming September 17th-20th, 2020.