Sandy Springs native Andrew Benator is starring in a one-man show opening on Jan. 23 at Theatrical Outfit about a diplomat who helped uncover the horrors of the Holocaust.
“Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski” is about a Polish diplomat and freedom fighter during World War II who battled his way across Europe to bring evidence of the Holocaust to Western governments. From the Warsaw ghetto to the Oval Office, this daring and incredible story explores how this self-described “insignificant little man” risked his life in an act of extraordinary moral courage.
In the 85-minute production, Benator plays 25 other characters with French, Polish, German, and Ukrainian dialects.
Karksi was “a very expressive person and had a very particular cadence in how he spoke,” Benator said, noting that he’s been working very hard to embody the character.
“There’s quite a bit of archival material on Karski, and for the past eight months I’ve been soaking in as much as I can,” Benator said. “I have played historical figures before, but I’ve never played someone with so much information and video of the character,.”
Karski wrote “Story of a Secret State” in 1944. He has been the subject of a biography, and thousands of news articles, and appeared in interviews by USC Shoah Foundation and a documentary.
“It’s not specifically a Jewish play or a Holocaust play,” said Benator. “It’s the lessons that he wanted people to take away from his experience. What responsibility do we have for the injustices that go on in the world? Do we just leave everything up to the government, or do we or do we take it upon ourselves to step in as individuals?”
Karski had a deep sense of morality and moral obligation. The length that he went to witness and report on Holocaust camps was incredible, Benator noted.
“The play ends with more questions than answers,” Benator said.
Benator attended Pace Academy, where he was very active in theater. He attended the Sephardic synagogue Congregation Or V’Shalom, where his grandparents were among early congregants. They immigrated to Atlanta from Rhodes and Turkey in the late 1910s.
Benator has 14 first cousins from his paternal side of the family, and many remain local.
He attended Colgate University before going on to the American Conservatory Theater in San Fransisco, where he earned an MFA and started his career.
After nine years in New York, Benator came back to Atlanta and now lives in Decatur.
Benator appeared in the hit comedy “The White Chip” at Theatrical Outfit and the “Stranger Things” series on Netflix. He’s played Scrooge for three years running in the Alliance Theater’s annual production of “A Christmas Carol.”
For tickets and details, visit theatricaloutfit.org.
