Katie Scarlett and Aaron Schilling Photo by Mikki Schaffner

Camp Siegfried is set in a summer camp for American teens of German descent in 1938. You might think that's a fantasy, but the camp actually existed from 1936 to 1941 on Long Island near Yaphank, New York. It's where the German American Bund offered recreational activities for youth with the not-too-subtle mission of building American support for Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. At Camp Siegfried (and several other locations), teens were encouraged to "be social," a subtle nudge toward spawning a race of German purebloods.

The story of Camp Siegfried is personalized by a pair of anonymous characters, "Her" and "Him" played by Katie Scarlett and Aaron Schilling. They represent the scores of young people who were subtly persuaded to adopt the tenets of Nazi ideology. The young women were expected to be docile and accepting, while the young men were pointed toward manly stereotypes.

Camp Siegfried is simply staged on a pair of interlocking platforms resembling a dock on a camp lakeside (designed by Danielle Robison). Effective sound design (Douglas J. Borntrager) ranging from oompah bands to a crackling campfire and simple but evocative lighting (Marly Wooster) underscore the camp's insidious attraction.

Wohl's characters don't match the stereotypes. In her first camp experience, "She" is so nervous that she can barely carry on a conversation. She awkwardly expresses fears that she doesn't really belong at the camp. Her parents forced her to go, and she's living with her Aunt in a home on Hitler Street. "He" is more experienced, although he confesses to being the runt of his family compared to his strapping brothers and demanding father. He offers to help her find her way through camp activities, and a sweet, almost innocent romance begins and takes root.

But storm clouds keep appearing. He describes to her an annual German Day event attended by thousands of German enthusiasts, and she begins to dream of being the day's featured speaker. (We watch her halting efforts to learn to speak German; he helps, since it's the language his family, especially his father, espouses at home.) When she nervously begins to tell him of fellow campers pairing off and heading into the woods for romantic encounters, they both try to justify this as normal teen behavior, but the fact that it's more or less condoned is a nagging concern.

Scarlett evolves through a spectrum of emotional adolescent behaviors and attitudes. At first, Her can barely speak to Him, but as they become better acquainted, she warms to his company and relaxes. At the same time, she is becoming more forceful, and her yearning to speak at German Day–which she is indeed selected to do–begins to shape her attitudes about racist fascist beliefs. Schilling at first comes across as an eager, unquestioning devotee who is hoping to mold himself in the same vein as his brothers and to bring her along. But as the couple becomes more familiar and more romantically attached, his softer side shows through despite his efforts to be macho.

Their relationship feels sweet, but it becomes evident that they are heading in dangerous directions, both individually and as a couple, and the story takes a disturbing turn as the 70-minute story's sequential scenes unfold across their summer of indoctrination. After she speaks at the big German Day event (strikingly played in front of Borntrager's video projection of a teeming crowd that responds with noisy cheers to some of her speech's most impassioned moments), her better nature leads to some deep questioning and self-doubt that result in even more complicated problems as the pair try to see what the future holds. They have both been shaped in ways they did not foresee. We have been drawn along by their increasing joy, which evaporates quickly.

This play is frighteningly timely in a period of political upheaval in the United States. In a news release remark, director Bridget Leak wrote, "Camp Siegfried is for anyone who is excited or interested in where we could be headed as a country. It shows ways in which young people become involved and get excited about seeing change in the world and it also shows the flipside of that: the ways in which people are passing along hatred and creating an unsafe world. This play captures the experience of being caught up in a movement that seems exciting while not realizing how dangerous it might be."

It's been a while since Know Theatre has presented a production that is so dramatically pertinent, thoughtful, and in the moment. Thanks to Leak's steady direction and a pair of actors who are new to the adventurous Over-the-Rhine theater, this bodes well for a new era of challenging and gratifying performance.

Camp Siegfried runs through September 28, 2024, at Know Theatre of Cincinnati, 1120 Jackson Street, Cincinnati OH. For tickets and information, please visit knowtheatre.com or call 513-300-5669.