'The Andersonville Trial' comes to T.O.

By Cary Ginell  Soundthink@aol.com

"The Andersonville Trial" at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts is a powerful, moving play written by Saul Levitt and based on an actual court trial held in the aftermath of the Civil War. Presented by Gothic Productions and the Thousand Oaks Theatre Guild, the riveting presentation focuses not just on atrocities committed by Americans against other Americans, but also on a grander theme examining moral versus military obligations in times of war.

In 1864, Union prisoners of war at the Confederate-run Camp Sumter, located near the tiny town of Andersonville, in central Georgia, were subjected to horrendous living conditions, with thousands of soldiers dying of dysentery, exposure and malnutrition, much of which could have been prevented with proper care.

By the time the trial took place, the bloodspattered country had just recently seen its leader, Abraham Lincoln, assassinated. The first order of business during what would be Reconstruction dealt with a criminal trial waged against the commandant of the camp, Capt. Henry Wirz.

In the trial, Wirz was accused of conspiracy and murder for not only permitting the atrocious living conditions endured by Union prisoners but for actually committing murders at the camp. As the Swiss-born Wirz, Ronald Rezac is a pitiable figure: Nearly crippled by illness and injury, forced to recline on a chaise during the trial but still defiant in his defense- which consisted of denying all charges against him- Wirz proclaimed that he was "only following orders" imposed on him by his superior, General John Henry Winder.

Rezac plays his difficult part admirably, exhibiting his indignation at the charges against him, his noble but misguided loyalty, and his disgust in believing that the trial was merely a formality and that he would be convicted no matter what.

The prosecutor is Lt. Col. N.P. Chipman, the Judge Advocate, played with a tortured honor by Jim Seerden. Chipman is outraged as Wirz shows no signs of sympathy or mercy toward the 14,000 soldiers who died under his watch.

Wirz's defense counsel is Otis Baker (Michael Jordan), who blithely tries defending his client by challenging witnesses' vitriolic statements against his client. As Baker, Jordan plays a key role in his verbal battles with Chipman, his caustic comments dripping with sarcasm as he challenges his adversary's own beliefs and motivations.

A parade of witnesses testifies during the trial, nearly all of them specifically implicating Wirz as personally carrying out cruel actions against the defenseless prisoners. The most effective was the testimony of 19yearold cavalryman James Davidson, sympathetically played by Peter Bosson. Bosson's haunted, unfocused gaze is unforgettable as he tells how Wirz ordered sentries to have guard dogs tear a prisoner to shreds, right before his eyes.

Only a prison surgeon (James Glasner) testifies in favor of Wirz, saying that his injuries made him incapable of not only striking a prisoner, but even pulling the trigger on a firearm, testimony that proves disquieting and that casts an element of doubt that could have resulted in Wirz's acquittal.

The cast of "The Andersonville Trial" is uniformly excellent. The spartan set design by S.B. Murray doesn't really need much other than chairs, a few tables, and an old wet bar used for the judge's bench.

Although the outcome of the trial is well-known (Wirz was convicted and hanged in November 1865, the only person convicted of war crimes committed during the Civil War), the overriding question pervading the play is how devotion to duty outweighs any moral obligations a soldier might feel, which would require him to disobey direct orders in order to save lives.

This lesson would repeat itself 80 years later in the Nuremberg Trials, when defiant Nazi officers also used the "Wirz defense" in proclaiming their innocence with regard to atrocities committed during the Holocaust.

"The Andersonville Trial" is a mustsee depiction of an important historical event documenting one of the most shameful periods in American history.

Shows are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through June 15. Visit www.HillcrestArts.com for more information or call (805) 381-1246 for tickets.