In a pre-World War I Vienna flophouse, an unlikely relationship of sorts develops between a struggling young artist and a shabby Jewish Bible salesman. The salesman's name is Shlomo Herzl; the artist's is Adolf Hitler.
That's the premise of "Mein Kampf" the mid-80s European hit by Hungarian-British playwright George Tabori, which is finally making its North American debut at L.A.'s Actors' Gang Theater. Holocaust survivor Tabori's mordantly witty farce, a heady mixture of Bertolt Brecht and the Marx Brothers, has a surprising comic poignancy. A hit in Germany and Austria, and well-received at the 1991 Israel Festival, this American premiere of "Mein Kampf" was long overdue.
Sheli Teitelbaum / Los Angeles