In Conversation with The Steel Man

A New Play at Penguin Rep Embraces Timeless Themes

The Steel Man, a new play by Cary Gitter, hits close to home for Sam Guncler, one of the play’s lead actors. The story follows Leo Gellert (Sam Guncler), a Hungarian Holocaust survivor, and the relationship Leo has with his son Jake (Leighton Samuels) one year after the death of Jake’s mother. Although the play takes place years after the Holocaust in Pittsburgh, Leo is left choking on the ghosts of the past and the trauma he endured. This makes maintaining a relationship with his grown son nearly impossible, especially as Leo’s trauma manifests in verbal and physical outbursts.

Guncler’s own father was a Holocaust survivor, one who lost his entire family to the genocide. He states that the two shared a similarly tense relationship to the one depicted in the piece. Guncler says that after meeting with other children of Holocaust survivors, he realized that many of them are also able to relate to the show and how it manages to tackle “…generational trauma, and how something that happened to somebody generations ago echoes down to the present day and into the future”. 

These similarities between Guncler’s real life and Gitter’s piece have allowed Guncler to grow closer to his father in a way that was previously inaccessible. While preparing for the role, Guncler shares how he was forced to lay down his preconceived notions and focus on crafting the character with a clean slate. This open minded approach to character development and the reliance on utilizing the text has allowed Guncler to garner a better understanding of his own personal relationship with his father. “…Looking at it now from [my father’s] point of view…I have to be him in a way. What was going through his head when we were having those fights? It makes perfect sense to me now, his point of view”. 

The ability to set down bias and presumptive thinking is what Guncler hopes audiences will take away from this piece. He emphasizes the divisive nature of our modern-day society and hopes that as patrons drive home, they are able to reflect not only on the perspectives of others, but on the importance of relationships. He sees the show as a way to promote unity through “…a universal story, because what group doesn’t have trauma? And how do we move past that, and make the world what it should be?”.

Guncler mentions his experience at Penguin and how the audiences are “…different from most regional theater audiences” he has performed for. He says this has much to do with Joe Brancato, director of The Steel Man and Artistic Director of Penguin Rep Theatre. Guncler applauds Brancato’s efforts to support playwrights and new work, as well as the audience’s willingness to show out for new pieces such as this. It is powerful to have a space such as this right in Rockland, with several shows from Penguin Rep going on to be produced in NYC after closing in Stony Point. While the world premiere of this show ends September 29th, those interested in being a part of the magic should keep their eyes peeled for events at penguinrep.org.

Photo provided by Penguin Rep, photo credit to Brian Pacelli