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...
Paper Brigade
Inspired by a true story, the musical is about two women who risk everything to save each other, their daughter, and Vilna's irreplaceable archive of Yiddish literature during and after the Holocaust. It follows Rachela, a Jewish historian, and Vikcia, her Polish Catholic housekeeper, who becomes Rachela's closest friend and emotional anchor. As they navigate the harrowing realities of war, their connection deepens into love—a love as radical as their mission to save endangered Yiddish books and artifacts from the Nazis. Yiddish text, poetry, and music are woven into the fabric of the musical.
Format: Musical
Cast Size: 9–15
Notes:
Music by Debra Caplan
Book by Cecelia Raker
Lyrics by Debra Caplan and Cecelia Raker
Snapshot
Nationality of Author: U.S.
Original Language: English and Yiddish
Production Rights Holder:
Visit Debra Caplan’s website: debracaplan.com
Experience(s) Chronicled: Righteous Gentiles | European Jewry Before the Holocaust | Hiding | Survivors and Subsequent Generations | The Ghettos | Resistance | Women and the Holocaust
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.