Release date: October 9, 2007
One-woman show commemorates Holocaust, Kristallnacht
Contact: Cheryl Anderson Brown, Assistant Director of Public Relations
770-499-3417 or cbrown@kennesaw.edu
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Claudia Stevens |
KENNESAW, Ga.—Claudia Stevens' commanding one-woman musical drama, "An Evening with Madame F," will be performed at Kennesaw State on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 3 p.m. in Stillwell Theater.
The performance takes place in commemoration of Kristallnacht, "The Night of the Broken Glass," The presentation remembers Nov. 10, 1938, when at least 91 Jews were killed by Nazi rioters. "An Evening with Madame F" is a gripping display of musical theater, which is based on the autobiography of Fania Fenelon titled “Playing for Time.” Fenelon was an Auchwitz inmate forced to provide musical entertainment for the Nazis. Along with a group of other musician inmates, Fenelon performed show tunes and opera arias for concentration camp officials.
In her portrayal of Fenelon, Stevens communicates the terrible struggle and moral dilemma these musicians faced. Both of Stevens' parents were concentration camp survivors, who changed their identities completely when they moved to California following liberation. Stevens, who was raised as the Methodist daughter of British parents, only discovered in her sophomore year of college that she was Jewish and that her parents were survivors of Auschwitz.
The show's musical score includes songs actually performed at Auschwitz and Bergen Belsen, another concentration camp. Along with the harsh irony of upbeat show tunes and beautiful arias, the production also includes poignant songs of faith and opposition sung by the inmates. In the end, this play is about surviving cruel circumstances through artistic expression.
"An Evening With Madame F" has had more than 100 presentations in cities and college campuses nationwide, as well as production and broadcast by PBS Television. The Kennesaw State performance tickets are $20. For more information, please contact the KSU box office at 770-423-6650.
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A member of the 35-unit University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State University is a comprehensive‚ residential institution with a growing student population approaching 20‚000 from 132 countries. The third largest state university in Georgia‚ Kennesaw State offers more than 60 graduate and undergraduate degrees‚ including a new Doctorate of Education in Leadership.
The KSU College of the Arts is one of only four Georgia institutions to have achieved full national accreditation for all of its arts programs.