Hutchinson theater to bring “Number the Stars”

Published on Sep 10th, 2015 by wpd-office | 0

Family Community Theatre of Hutchinson, Kan. will be bringing Central Kansas a moving play called Number the Stars at the Flag Theatre in downtown Hutchinson (310 N. Main Street) on Thursday, September 24 – Saturday, September 26 at 7:30 pm and on Sunday September 27 at 3 pm. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (60 and older), and $5 for children (12 and under). Contact Matt Christian, member of the Hutchinson Community church, for more information at matt-christian@hotmail.com or at (316) 217-6305.  

The story centers on ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen, who lives with her family in Copenhagen in 1943. She becomes a part of the events related to the rescue of the Danish Jews, when thousands of Jews were helped to reach neutral ground in Sweden in order to avoid being deported to concentration camps. She risks her life to help her best friend, Ellen Rosen, by pretending that Ellen is Annemarie’s late older sister Lise, who had died earlier in the war.

During the German occupation of Denmark in World War II, the Nazis closed down Jewish-owned businesses and began to round up the Jews for relocation to concentration camps for the final solution. Danish freedom fighters of all ages risked everything in daring, hurried attempts to rescue the entire Jewish population.

This is a dramatic example of non-violent resistance of a violent and evil regime that was highly successful. The Danish people were able to successful rescue 7,220 of the 7,800 Danish Jews. And through intervention saved the lives of Danish Jews who were deported to Theresienstadt in Bohemia… so much so that 99% of Danish Jews survived the Holocaust.

In this stirring new play, young Annemarie and Kirstie Johansen face soldiers, interrogations, fierce dogs, personal danger, the loss of loved ones and their own fears as they try to help their friend Ellen Rosen escape across the ocean to Sweden and safely. Courage, faith, ingenuity and even their fledgling acting skills eventually win the day.

All the drama, pathos, adventure, terror and humor that have made Number the Stars, written by Lois Lowry, a national best seller (and winner of the Newbery Award and the American Library Association Book of the Year Award) come to life in this powerful adaptation.

The story’s title is taken from a reference to Psalm 147, in which the writer relates that God has numbered all the stars in the universe. It ties into the Star of David, worn by Ellen on her necklace, which is symbolic to the story.

There is a general theme in the stories Lois Lowry writes: the importance of human connections. Number the Stars tells the same story: that of the role that we humans play in the lives of our fellow beings and the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment.

She states, “I try, through writing, to convey my passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another.”

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