Songs and sketches written in Terezín/Theresienstadt, from Lisa Peschel's anthology Performing Captivity, Performing Escape and other sources.
Full of satire, bitter humor, and hope, these pieces demonstrate how art became a vital survival technique for the inmates
JANUARY SHOWS
at a brownstone at
153 W. 88th
Sat Jan 28 at 7pm
Tue Jan 31 at 7:30pm
FEBRUARY SHOW
at New Yiddish Rep
315 W 39th St Suite 611
Special guest: David Mandelbaum
Sat Feb 18 at 8pm
MARCH SHOWS
at Torn Page
435 W 22nd Street
Sat March 18 at 8pm
Sun March 19 at 5pm
Special guest: Tony Torn
APRIL SHOW
at Bohemian National Hall
321 E 73rd St
Sun April 16 at 5pm
Followed by a discussion with Ukrainian performer Anna Zineko about performing in times of war and hardship
Conceived by Edward Einhorn
Developed and directed by Edward Einhorn and Jenny Lee Mitchell
Original work written by Armin Berg, Robert Dauber, Sergei Dreznin, Grigory Flidlider, Hans Hofer, Vitezslav “Pidla” Horpatzky, Jaroslav Jezek, Frantisek Kowanitz, Josef Lustig, Felix Porges, Frida Rosenthal, Erwin Schulhoff, Leo Strauss, Myra Strauss-Gruhenberg, Karel Svenk, Victor Ullmann, and Ilse Weber
With: Craig Anderson, Seth Gilman, Jenny Lee Mitchell, Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld, and Katarina Vizina
Musical direction and piano accompaniment: Maria Dessena.
Part of Remembrance Readings program of National Jewish Theater Foundation—Holocaust Theater International Initiative
Running time: one hour
Terezin was the final stop for more than 30,000 Central and Western European Jews, most from Czechoslovakia, Austria and Germany who perished within its walls. For thousands more it was only a way station on the journey to the slave-labor and death camps. Yet it was also a place where many prisoners became intensely aware of the meaning and power or art. During those years in Terezin/Theresienstadt, a vigorous cultural life emerged. Not all prisoners participated in the cultural life and only a small fraction of the works produced there has survived.
"Although honoring a somber event, the atmosphere was surprisingly pleasant and uplifting...Cabaret in Captivity is a call to action to use hope not as a means of passive daydreaming, but a powerful act of resistance. It has been said that humor equals truth plus distance. Perhaps humor was the most palatable, effective way of sharing the unbelievable creativity, will, and resistance that came from the 'Chosen' who 'had no choice.' " - Amy Oestreicher, Broadway World
Previously performed at Pangea, The Center for Jewish History, the Bohemian National Hall, York Theatre, the Czech Embassy in Washington, DC, and The William Goodenough House in London, England.
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