A Message from Arnold Mittelman After a career in not-for-profit and commercial theater spanning more than 40 years I was honored in 2007 to found the National Jewish Theater / Foundation and in 2010 to assume leadership of its Holocaust Theater International...
The Choice [Le choix]
Author(s): Elie Wiesel
The Choice marks Wiesel’s dramatic effort to explore the depths of our human capacity to kill. Recounting the struggle of members of a resistance movement as they carry out orders from above, Wiesel’s play is an examination of individual human identity and the fine line between innocence and intention. Three individuals in a small, dark, cold room detain three prisoners. They must select those who will remain alive and choose the one who will die and be executed—they are faced with an overwhelming choice.
Format: Staged reading
Cast Size:5M/1F
Character breakdown:
Frank
Misha
Ilona
Hostage 1
Hostage 2
Hostage 3
Notes:
For more information, visit the play website.
Elie Wiesel moved to New York City in 1955 and subsequently became an American citizen. In the U.S., he wrote over 40 books and won many literary prizes. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for speaking out against violence, repression and racism.
Snapshot
Original or Prominent Production:
Staged reading at the Salle Rossini, Paris, on March 25, 2013; and at the Sanders Theatre, Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 12, 2015, in commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Staged reading at the Salle Rossini, Paris, on March 25, 2013; and at the Sanders Theatre, Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 12, 2015, in commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Nationality of Author: Romanian
Original Language: French
Production Rights Holder:
Experience(s) Chronicled: Resistance
HTC Insights
Views, reference and research of interest.
Lifetime Achievement Award
The National Jewish Theater Foundation presented its 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award to Alfred Uhry. The presentation took place as part of the Lincoln Center Library event on January 27th 2025 in commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on the 80th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz
Lifetime Achievement Award
On September 30, 2024, French playwright, Mr. Jean Claude Grumberg received the Lifetime Achievement Award. It was presented by NJTF HTII President, Arnold Mittelman with Dominique Trimbur, PhD-Manager for the History of Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, Teaching of the Holocaust of Fondation Pour La Memoir de la Shoah Project.