The story of Curt Herzstark, an Austrian industrialist and concentration camp prisoner who was sent by the Nazis to an underground salt mine during the war. While in captivity, he continued his experiments with a device that would eventually become the hand-held calculator.
An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast recording, starring Garret Dillahunt, Joe Spano, Josh Stamberg, Daniel Stewart, Nick Toren, Matthew Wolf. Directed by Matt August and recorded before a live audience by L.A. Theatre Works. Intelligence-Slave is part of L.A. Theatre Works’ Relativity Series featuring science-themed plays.
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“An ‘intelligence-slave’ was a derogatory term used by the Nazis during WWII to describe concentration camp prisoners who might be ‘of some use.’ In this taut and suspenseful telling of the real-life story of Curt Herzstark, actor Josh Stamberg conveys all the conflicting emotions of a gifted, sensitive scientist who is allowed to pursue his mathematical studies in a lab located in the salts mines below Buchenwald. But he knows that his time may be up if it’s discovered that he’s invented the first handheld mechanical calculator. Listen carefully throughout the program for the unusual scratchy sound of an original working Curta calculator, which was lent to LA Theatre Works to use as a sound effect during the recording of this live performance.”
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