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The Eastern Echo Wednesday, July 16, 2025 | Print Archive
The Eastern Echo

Denial

'Denial' illuminates hatred, racism

Theater department’s latest production continues taking on controversial subjects

Eastern Michigan University’s theater department doesn’t exactly shy away from controversial topics. It took on pot with “Reefer Madness,” gender and AIDS with “Angels in America” and now it tackles the Holocaust with Peter Sagal’s “Denial.”

“Denial,” directed by Joseph Fournier, isn’t your typical Holocaust drama. It is a play about the blurry line between what is legal and what is right.

As a Jewish lawyer, Abby (Emily Patton) takes on the case of Cooper (James Walrod), an engineering professor who publishes books and journals about his beliefs that the Holocaust never occurred.

When U.S. government officials break his door down and take his mailing lists, Abby takes the case to defend the First Amendment more than Cooper himself.

However, as more people, including Ryberg (Chris Sweet), a Jewish lawyer working for the U.S. Attorney’s office; Stefanie (Amber Pope), her secretary; Gomrowitz (Jim Bowman), an author who writes about his experiences during the Holocaust and Nathan (Derek Ridge), an aging Jewish holocaust survivor, get thrown into the mix, Abby begins to question if standing up for the law is right, and if standing up for what’s right is in line with the law.

As a whole, the show was wonderfully put together and used the space of the lab theater very well. There isn’t a bad seat in the house, and the set-up of the stage brings the audience into the story.

Patton’s performance as Abby sparkles, and you often feel like a fly on the wall of her office. You can see her struggle with herself as she tries to cope with Cooper’s case, beliefs and antics.

Walrod is downright enraging as Cooper, and you spend half the show wanting to either hit him or debate with him, in spite of some of his motions seeming rehearsed. However, he does a fantastic job at communicating the sense that he’s not doing this out of hate. He really does believe what he is saying and just wants to get his opinion out there.

Sweet as Ryberg and Bowman as Gomrowitz add fuel to the fire, acting almost as Abby’s Jewish consciences. After spending so much time watching Cooper and trying to sympathize with his situation, it’s relieving to see people so blatantly on the side that so many of us are on.

Pope as Stephanie and Ridge as Nathan steal the show. Pope’s much appreciated comic relief and down to earth appeal helps the audience stay grounded in an otherwise very serious show. And Ridge’s comedic timing and almost clichéd, but perfect portrayal of an aging Jewish retiree bring in a sense of humanity to a part of the show that became darker and more twisted as the plot thickens.

“Denial” is a well-performed and directed show that will doubtlessly bring in its audience and get them thinking. It not only shines light on the issue of hate and racism, but also on the rights we have as Americans and leaves you wondering: Where does the line between what’s lawful and what’s right begin?
The show’s last performance is 8 p.m. tonight in the Quirk/Sponberg Theatre lab.