2 out of 5 stars

"Hans Litten: The Jew Who Cross-Examined Hitler" unearths an intriguing historical episode with resonance in today’s political climate. In 1931, a young German lawyer used a courtroom to expose the brutal excesses of a nascent dictator, embarrassing him on the witness stand and eventually spurring personal retribution. But an episode does not make a play. Outside of the first-act courtroom scene, the characters, including Litten, seem generic and their dialogue stilted, as author Douglas Lackey, a Baruch College philosophy professor, uses them mostly as mouthpieces for ideas. That unfortunately dilutes the emotional resonance that should be coming through. — Adam Z. Horvath

At Theatre Row, through Feb. 22, 2026; hanslittenplay.com. (Review date: Feb. 6, 2026)