A Failing Play Becomes Anti-Abortion Propaganda

"Irena's Vow," a play depicting a woman's struggle to save lives during the Holocaust, was recently called pro-life by LifeSiteNews, which skewed the critical reception of the play, and its intentions.

According to LifeSiteNews,
a new Broadway play called "Irena’s Vow" has apparently received
critical acclaim. The play depicts two years in the life of Irena Gut Opdyke,
who secretly helped twelve Jewish refugees while working as the housekeeper for
German major.

The article’s description of the play’s critical reception is vague,
claiming that critics "across New
York" enjoyed the play, and names only one
source (the Star Ledger). LifeSiteNews says:

"The play has been called ‘engrossing and enlivening,’ ‘gripping,’ and
‘heart-stopping’ by critics, while the Star Ledger said that ‘There’s no
denying the emotional power of this miraculous story!"


This looked like bullshit, so I checked out the play’s website, which offers
a few pull quotes, from which you
can read the full reviews. Overall, the play received mixed reviews, the
positive points focused on the performance of the actors, the negative on the
clunky narrative.


Liz Smith, from Variety, called the play "engrossing and
enlivening," but also said that the
play had
"clunky dramaturgy" and "thinly fleshed-out
characters and far too much reported action."


Joe Dziemianowicz, from the Daily News, did call the play
"gripping," but he also gave it three
out of five stars
.


Michael Sommers, from The Star Ledger, called
the play
"heart stopping" and "gripping," but he also
wrote that "the playwright’s mechanics register as a bit synthetic at
times"


None of this suggests "critical acclaim." 


Suspiciously, the article on LifeSiteNews comes two days after the announcement
that "Irena’s Vow" will be closing on June 28, 2009. This isn’t
mentioned anywhere in the article, which ends with a bid for fundraising:
"A percent of proceeds from tickets purchased through In Support Life will
be donated to a pro-life organization of their choice."


The article is, essentially, advertising copy, but even worse than that,
implies a connection between the anti-abortion movement and a character saving
lives during the Holocaust, a concept that is as wrong as it is offensive.