Alissa Through the Glass and Into Terezin

Author(s): David F. Eliet
Alissa Hoffmann, a 14-year-old mischling, is taken from her Aryan home and tumbled into the Lewis Carroll like world of Terezin. From her Mad Hatter’s Tea Party ride through Germany, to her entrance through the Schleuse Gate, to the overcrowded living conditions, to her encounters with the White and Red Queens, the White Knight and Humpty Dumpty among other characters of this bizarre land, Alissa struggles to come to an understanding of a heritage she never knew she had a part. By the end, she must choose between sacrificing virginity to an older man, or accepting her fate as a Jewish girl.
Format: Full-length play
Character breakdown:
ALISSA, a Half Jewish/Half German girl age 14
FATHER, an Officer in the Wermacht
THE MAN, Jewish Official from Terezin
ASSISTANT TO THE MAN
REDLICH, Gonda “Egon” Redlich in charge of Youth Administration,
MAN IN A WHITE SUIT
GOAT BEARDED MAN
BEETLE BROWED MAN
MODERN TOUR GUIDE (male or female)
TOURISTS
OLD MAN, Emaciated old German Jewish Man, Decorated War Veteran
RED HAIRED WOMAN, Middle Aged Jewish Woman
WHITE HAIRED WOMAN, Jewish Woman in her sixties
PROSECUTOR
DOCTOR
RUTH, Czech Jewish Girl 14
GIRL WITH BREAD, Jewish Girl, 16
GIRL WITH NOOSE, Jewish Girl 14
GIRL WITH CANDLE, Jewish Girl 14
COMPOSER, Jewish Artist, mid-twenties to mid-thirties
FETTER MANN, Jewish Man with Influence, fat, 50’s
RAHM, SS Commandant of Terezin mid-thirties
EINHORN, Jewish Youth late teens, early twenties
LOWENHART, Jewish Youth, late teens, or early twenties
RABBI, the most honorable man in Terezin
SS MAN 1
SS MAN 2
CONDEMNED BOY
YOUNG PERSON (Male or Female)
HELGA
WORKER
THREE BLIND MEN (International Red Cross Observers)

Snapshot

Original or Prominent Production:
Northern Kentucky University Y.E.S. Festival 2005.
Original Source Material: Many books, including biographies, diaries, and interviews with survivors.
Nationality of Author: U.S.
Original Language: English
Production Rights Holder:

David Eliet

Experience(s) Chronicled: The Ghettos

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