←Recommendations of Seeking Nietzsche (Full-length play)

The motifs of words, letters, writing, creation and musical composition are woven throughout this piece which moves fluidly through time to explore whether this "character in his own plot" was "a hero or a monster." Eppich-Harris creates such pathos with the recurring scenes punctuating his helplessness as he sits "catatonic" in the hands of these two women and the stability of his legacy is literally carried away from him. Favorite line: "Oblivion would be better than being misunderstood."

Marcia Eppich-Harris' exploration of the man, his philosophy, and his circle brings us closer to all of them; revealing the gulf between Nietzsche's own characterization of himself, and the reality he lived and suffered through. Answering the philosopher's call to love fate and embrace suffering, Seeking Nietzsche posits thoughtful questions about what it means to love someone, and what it means for that love to be unrequited, and whether Nietzsche's own self-love may be the most unrequited of all.

The first thing to make an impression is Eppich-Harris' poetic language, which serves as a beautiful ushering in to a journey about legacy. We feel in safe hands due to a resplendent atmosphere of skillfully chosen historical settings for struggles in love, debate, and power; each scene setting up a specific question regarding Nietzsche's work and its socio-political placement, his wellness, and Elisabeth's will to impose interpretation. Indeed there are generous insights into Nietzsche's work in philosophy and literature, but a remarkable achievement here is Eppich-Harris' rendering of a human drama. The play is structured to flow, engage, and inspire.

2022-23 Salon Reading Series Selection
In Seeking Nietzsche, Marcia Eppich-Harris adeptly weaves history, philosophy, and emotional life into a complex and often misunderstood philosopher. Using a handful of supporting characters, Eppic-Harris tackles the misinterpretation of Nietzsche’s work while providing us a glimpse of the flesh and blood human behind the literary and philosophical reputation. Highly recommended. Our audience responded positively to this play.

Another amazing presentation of a historic philosopher from Marcia Eppich-Harris. Such an incredible deep dive into a man whose thoughts helped shape the modern world. But we know more about his thoughts, many of which were misappropriated, than the man. Eppich-Harris deftly balances the expectations with the humanity to deliver a triumphant, intimate story that challenges what we know and reinforces what we hope. I am certain this play is enthralling onstage because it is on the page.

Much more than a dry history lesson or a discourse on nihilism, Seeking Nietzsche is a cleverly constructed and engaging story that took me on a journey through Neitzche’s life and relationships and on multiple side trips: the Tristan chord, Dionysus, Zarathustra, Schopenhauer, and more. Seeking Nietzsche is a tour de force!

Marcia Eppich-Harris has created a mastery of art with this reality bending play about Fredrich Nietzsche. I can only imagine the amount of research that Eppich-Harris must have invested to come up with this brilliantly crafted, well interpreted play. From the first line, "Some men are born posthumously, as I was. But in that rebirth, I fear that I am greatly misunderstood." the playwright draws you in and not only holds your interest but captivates you. Amazing play. The playwright makes it easy to imagine with the specificity of the stage directions. Brilliant.

Eppich-Harris dramatizes not just Friedrich Nietzsche's efforts to break from 19th century orthodoxy as a philosophical provocateur, but the subsequent fights over what his philosophy means, personified by the struggle between his estranged friend, the intellectual Lou Andreas-Salomé, and his literary executor and estranged sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche who in pursuing her own political will-to-power was in the decades following his death reshaped his public image into a philosopher of something he despised: a philosopher of German nationalism. Eppich-Harris' writing is lyrical, psychologically complex, and ultimately political.