HITLER ON THE ROOF
a play for two clowns
USA premiere
Strawdog Theater, Chicago, June 21st, 2017
Produced by The Aquavit Theater
The time is now, the place is Hitler’s Führebunker, the man is Dr. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s loyal Minister of Propaganda and Enlightenment, a man who can’t die until his mission is completed.
Down in the bunker, Goebbels sends his daily dispatch via Art, Culture, and Communication produced by RADIO FREE GOEBBELS. Here, he teaches his loyal listeners the importance of culture and its link to propaganda. “You don’t change a culture with weapons, you change a culture with culture.” In walks Leni Riefenstahl, the film director of the Third Reich, and their dance of death begins.
Rhea Leman wrote HITLER ON THE ROOF in 2010, inspired by the harsh right-wing tone that appeared in the Danish political arena. Unfortunately, the play’s message is more relevant today (2026) than ever before.
Written by: Rhea Leman
Directed by: Kristin Franklin and Amber Robinson
Cast: Amy Gorelow and Jay Torrence
Set design: Chad Eric Bergman
Costumes: Piper Hubbel Robinson
Lights: Emma Deane
Sound: Nigel Harsch
Written by: Rhea Leman
Directed by: Kristin Franklin and Amber Robinson
Cast: Amy Gorelow and Jay Torrence
Set design: Chad Eric Bergman
Costumes: Piper Hubbel Robinson
Lights: Emma Deane
Sound: Nigel Harsch
Photos by: Karl Clifton-Soderstrom
“…The intimate setting of the new Strawdog Theatre allows the audience to examine every detail, light twitch, and sweat droplet on stage, yet the entire production crew and cast make it all look effortless. The combination of playwright Rhea Leman’s powerful monologues and dialogues, the intense co-direction Kirstin Franklin and Amber Robinson, and overwhelming set design by Chad Eric Bergman come together with knockout performances by Gorelow and Torrence.”
Danielle Levsky, NEW CITY STAGE
““… the audience becomes an integral part of this nightmare-like Neverland, as they’re pushed to repeat slogans from Third Reich propaganda, encouraged to sing and clap along with Goebbels’ show tune presentations, and made to endure lectures about what made the Nazi Seizure of Power great. It’s all done tongue in cheek, of course, but you know what they say about history repeating itself?”
Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review
“Albert Einstein’s wisdom that ‘The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look and do nothing,’ rings loud and true. In the end, it is for us that Rhea Leman uses Goebbels to deliver a strong message in her play: Silence needs an explanation. If the world doesn’t wake up to the fact that there is a Hitler on all our roofs, we are a hop, skip, and a jumping clown away from another massive modern civilized failure.”
Tonika Todorova, PerformINK
“… It’s a tall order, though, for this playwright, House of Cards script writers, or any artist to top the surrealism of the nightly news broadcast. That said, this is an imaginative and fun performance chock full of serendipity-fueled laughs, a winning recipe made to order for trying times.”
Amy Munice, Picture This Post, Chicago
“… Akvavit’s “Hitler on the Roof” is highly recommended. As tempting as it is to call Hitler on the Roof timely, it is hard to imagine a time when this material would not be topical. This is by no means the first (and likely not the last) that our own nation is afflicted by the unflinching resentment toward the minority. If only the villains would consent to wear clown makeup.”
Noel Schecter, Splash Magazine, Chicago
