Albert Einstein is undeniably one of the greatest geniuses of our time. How far would a person go to be as smart as he? Would a person who was willing to eat Einstein’s brain be as intelligent as the man himself?

That is the question asked in the hilarious one-act play, ‘The Man Who Ate Einstein’s Brain,’ which was performed at the Hillel House these past Sunday and Monday nights. The play, written by Louis Phillips, is about the brain laboratory of Dr. Moran (Daniel Dworkin), where Einstein’s brain is at rest in a large jar under lock and key. Unfortunately, the laboratory’s elderly janitor, Mr. Goldberg (Adam Schepp), mistakes the brain for a ‘large and soggy matzoh ball’ and eats it in his chicken soup for lunch. After his meal, Goldberg unexplainably begins to act like Einstein – playing the violin, smoking a pipe and writing down complicated mathematical equations. Now, it’s up to Dr. Moran and his attractive young colleague, Dr. Steiner (Victoria Stankiewicz), to figure out how to explain the disappearance of Einstein’s brain and the strange behavior of Goldberg to the scientific community.

The play was directed by Leah Weiss, a sophomore Theater and Judaic Studies major. Last semester, Weiss and Hillel’s Program Director, Deborah Braunstein, began Hillel’s drama program, which includes improv nights and other activities, as well as play performances. The first Hillel production Weiss directed was last semester’s cabaret-style performance of two plays by David Ives – ‘Sure Thing’ and ‘The Philadelphia.’

– By Jeanie Gorlovsky