The Legacy Project: Community Performance

Creation Cast: Craig Biesecker, Emily Gayeski, Nancy Hubner (fka Shevitz), Renée Jaworski, Noel MacDuffie, Dante Puleio, Wendee Rogerson (Solo), and Katie Stevinson-Nollet

MAYNE MENTSHN was made possible in part by a grant from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture’s Pearl Zeltzer Fund for Jewish Choreography, the AT&T Foundation; Nick and Shelley DeFilippis; the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; Joel, Carol, Noah & Jordan Dorfman; Henry and Mala Dorfman; Gregory S. Gallick, M.D.; The Karma Foundation; North Star Partners, The Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation; and Summit Physical Therapy.

Cat’s Cradle (2007)

During the Nazi Regime of World War II, Theresienstadt was a ghetto in Czechoslovakia. Constructed by the Germans as a “model city” for the world to see; music, theater and opera became both a voluntary and involuntary part of its fabric. A city originally meant to house 5,000 people; it became a holding ground for well over 100,000 Jews and others who were ultimately destined for the gas chambers of Auschwitz. What is even more astonishing than the pain they endured, is the life and light they embodied and the ability of the human spirit to soar amidst the darkness. It is a story of survival, will, and connection. My mother and her two sisters survived the war because they could knit. They shared their stories as they wove their yarn and thus knit our family together…Past, Present and Future. - Carolyn Dorfman

Choreography by Carolyn Dorfman

Inspired by the musical theater production, Voices From Theresienstadt, by Ellen Foyn

Bruun and Bente Kahan

All text written by Ilse Weber while a prisoner in Theresienstadt

Music by Ilse Weber and Bente Kahan

Vocals by Bente Kahan

Original Lighting Design by Sean Perry; recreated by Burke Wilmore

Costume Design by Katherine Winter

Ich Wandre Durch Theresienstadt (I Wander Through Theresienstadt)

Performance by Katlyn Baskin, Maiko Harada, and Kaila Moses

Die Kartoffelschälerin (Potato Peelers)

Performance by Katlyn Baskin, Gianna Diaz, Hannah Gross, Maiko Harada, and Kaila Moses

Ein Koffer Spricht (A Suitcase Speaks)

Performance by Dominique Dobransky with Jarred Bosch, Gianna Diaz, Khalid Dunton, Brandon Jones, Charles Scheland, and Andréa Ward