The play will be on stage at 7 p.m. each night Thursday through Saturday, at the Fairfield Freshman School. Tickets are $10 in advance and may be purchased online at http:bit.ly/fhsdramatickets or $15 by cash/check at the door.
“Letters to Sala” tells the story of a Jewish woman living in New York, who, in the mid-1990s, presented her daughter and granddaughters with a box of letters she saved from her time in seven different Nazi labor camps in the 1940s.
“They were allowed to have letters sent to them, and they could write some, but there was a limit to how many, and eventually, they didn’t get many letters through. But she hid them instead of destroying them like they were supposed to. So, she hid over 320 letters through her five years in these seven different camps that she labored in,” Muldoon said.
On the day Sala was going in for bypass surgery, she gave the letters to her daughter. She had never spoken of them before. The whole play is a reminiscent of older Sala, remembering back to young Sala’s life in these labor camps, he said. And it also becomes a bit of a battle between her daughter and granddaughters as to what to do with the letters, and they eventually decided they are to go to a museum so that all of the world can see the history and understand the battles that these young women were going through.
Muldoon said it’s “definitely a heavy-themed show” that was chosen prior to Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. In preparing for the show, he said students have been learning more about Sala as well as the history.
“The beautiful news is Sala made it through. Her two sisters suffered through the Death March, but then, were released in liberation right before they got to the next stage of what they thought was going to be their outcome,” Muldoon said.
He said it’s been immensely helpful and meaningful that he and the cast have been in touch with the author of the play, Arlene Hutton, and the author of the book, which is Sala’s daughter, Ann Kirschner.
“Our cast members were afforded the opportunity for an incredible and educational journey while diving into the profound narrative of ‘Letters to Sala.’ We were privileged to have Larry Tischler, a valued member of the Fairfield community, graciously share his insights by teaching our students the Jewish Shabbat prayer. This invaluable experience has enriched our understanding of the beautiful traditions, faith, and people we aim to portray,” said Muldoon. “In addition, our engagement with both Arlene Hutton, the play’s author, and Ann Kirschner, the daughter of Sala and author of ‘Sala’s Gift,’ has provided us with a rare but appreciated and much-needed opportunity for communication and conversation. These interactions have been inspiring and illuminating, providing an even more rich context through which we can tell this story.”
How to go
What: Fairfield High School Drama Department presents “Letters to Sala” by Arlene Hutton
When: 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 8-10
Where: Fairfield Freshman Auditorium, 8790 N. Gilmore Road in Fairfield
Admission: Tickets are $10 online in advance at http:/bit.ly/fhsdramatickets. Tickets at the door are $15 and are cash/check only.
More info: http:bit.ly/fhsdramatickets
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