The Last Cyclist - Lex

Lex-Ham Community Theater
presents
The Last Cyclist
Why
Why ews?
J
?
the
Cyclists
th e
(
a BITTER COMEDY WRITTEN IN TEREZÍN IN 1943
by Karel Švenk adapted by Naomi Patz
The play is being produced in partnership with the Czech and Slovak Cultural Center,
Czech and Slovak Sokol Minnesota, Good Samaritan UNITED METHODist Church, and
the Saint Paul Jewish Community Center.
Special pricing and discounts are available for members of the Czech and Slovak Cultural Center,
Czech and Slovak Sokol Minnesota, and the JCC. Contact those organizations for more information.
7:30 p.m. June 5, 6 , 2::00 p.m. June 7
CSPS Sokol Hall
7:30 pm June 12, 13
Good Samaritan UMC
383 Michigan Street, St. Paul
5730 Grove Street, Edina
7:30 p.m. June 11 , 2:00 p.m. June 14
st. paul jcc
7:30 pm June 19, 20
Blank Slate Theatre
1375 St. Paul Avenue, sT. pAUL
$18
499 Wacouta Street, St. Paul
adults/$12 for children, students, and seniors age 65+
$10 at good samaritan UMc
www.TheLastCyclist.com
The Last Cyclist
by Karel Švenk as adapted by Naomi Patz
Cast and Crew
Sherry Allen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mrs. Manickova
Mikel Clifford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lunatic 2
Timothy Como . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lunatic 1
Debra Constantine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rich
Richard Daly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rat
Christine DeZelar-Tiedman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hitler, Lunatic 3
Adam Dielschneider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karel Švenk/Borivoj Abeles
Jerry Harrison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr Opportunist, Big Shot
Kristine Holmgren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ma’am
Shira Levenson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manicka
Geordy Levin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Red
David Merry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Head Physician, Lunatic 4
Eli Newell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Young Man, Celery, Runner, Lion
Janell Schilman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Secret Lunatic, Other Cyclist, Ms. Hippo
Pianist:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Rose
Clarinetists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beth Henningsen, Lisa Lee, Mark Stevens
Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adam Arnold
Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jennifer Thissen Swain
Music Director/Associate Producer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Rose
Set Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dutton Foster
Costume Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Judy Larsen, Liz Notermann
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ed Quirin, Renae Redenius
Props Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jennifer Nagel
Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elie Socha
Lighting Tech crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kim Berry, Libby Christiansen, Rachel Simon
Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lou Michaels, Lila Lee Taft
Videography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rachel Simon, Carli Stark
Graphic Artist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kasia Wasko
Producer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Urban Landreman
Scenes
The play is set in the final dress rehearsal for The Last Cyclist in the Terezín ghetto or concentration camp
Act II
Act I
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
2
Garden of the lunatic asylum
Town
Garden of the lunatic asylum
Town
Town
Town hall
The middle of nowhere
Meeting hall of the lunatic asylum
9. The bedroom
10. A stream
11. Street
12. House
13. Nowhere in particular
10-minute intermission
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Town
The courtroom
Horror Island
Middle of nowhere
Lunatic meeting hall
The zoo
Lunatic meeting hall
The zoo
Street
Cast and Crew
Sherry Allen (Mrs. Manickova) Sherry has been doing community theater for the past eight years. Hello Dolly
was her first play and she fel in love with the stage. Sherry has been married to her husban for 28 years and they
have three children. Her most recent plays have been It’s A Wonderful Life, as Eunice in A Streetcar Named Desire,
and as the Duchess in Alice in Wonderland.
Adam Arnold (Director) Adam feels honored to be directing The
Last Cyclist with Lex-Ham Community Theatre. Serving also as
Artistic Director for blank slate theatre, Adam’s directing credits
include The Laramie Project, A Night To Be, Good ‘n’ Plenty,
Generations, Songs for a New World, Spring’s Awakening, Fiddler
on the Roof, Pippin, Little Shop of Horrors, You’re a Good Man
Charlie Brown, Honk! The Ugly Duckling Musical, Alice in
Wonderland, and Beauty and the Beast.
Please
remember to turn
off all cell phones
or pagers during the
performance.
Adam has performed with Minneapolis Musical Theatre, Bloomington
Civic Theatre, Paul Bunyan Playhouse (Bemidji, MN), College Light Opera Company (Cape Cod, MA), Heritage
Theatre, blank slate theatre, The Phipps Center (Hudson, WI), and Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.
Adam has directed and taught musical theatre and acting for Boston Ballet, Sabes Jewish Community Center,
Omegon Inc., Talmud Torah School, Get Ready!, St. Paul Jewish Community Center, St. Paul Conservatory for
Performing Artists, Stages Theatre Company, Lex-Ham Community Theater, and McNally Smith College of Music.
Kim Berry (Lighting Tech) Kim is a visual artist who has lived in the West End for the past three years with
her husband. They moved here from Sturgis, South Dakota. Kim and her husband have eight children and twelve
grandchildren.
Libby Christensen (Lighting Tech) Libby is a recent grad of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. She
is now an advocate for the homeless with People Incorporated and spends free time painting, walking, and exploring
Saint Paul.
Mikel Clifford (Lunatic 2) Mikel acted, directed and costumed for theatres throughout the lower 48 and Alaska
in both this century and the last. She originated what is now called the California Shakespeare Theatre (Orinda, CA)
and the ongoing Minnesota Shakespeare Festival. Mikel is a founding member of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre
and of The Curtain Theatre of Mill Valley, CA. In Minnesota, she worked in Fringe Festivals, Chimera Theatre,
Park Square, and TRP. She studied with Tomas McAnna & Warren Frost (acting), Emily Mann (directing), Karl
Wallenda (movement), Lew Christiansen and Lenore Job (dance), Mamako (Mime), and Sandra Archer
(Commedia). For the Minnesota Shakes, Mikel directs Jane Martin’s Good Boys in August 2009 in St. Paul at the
Lowry Lab and other venues.
Timothy Como (Lunatic 1) Tim hails from Marshall, Minnesota, but now is proud to call Saint Paul home. Tim
has appeared on stages around the upper Midwest, as well at the Southwestern United States. This is Tim’s first, but
hopefully not is last, appearance with Lex-Ham. He would like to thank his very cool wife, Renee, and their two
equally cool cates, Smoke and Cinder, for having lots of patience while Tim goes “out to play”.
“He couldn’t have cared less about politics
and see where that’s gotten him.”
- Borivoj Abeles
3
Debra Constantine (Rich) Debra is from Stillwater, MN and
graduated from UW-River Falls in December with a degree in creative
writing and theatre. She has performed in many college productions and
wrote, directed, and produced White Bread, a play that performed in last
year’s Minnesota Fringe Festival. Debra plans to attend grad school in
Israel in the near future and until then, she is excited to be performing
with Lex-Ham Community Theater.
“I have a slogan.
I have a calling.
I have a cause.”
- Ma’am
Richard Daly (Rat) This is Richard’s third play for the Lex-Ham
Theater. He is glad to be back with the Lex-Ham where he started acting two years ago. Since then, he has also appeared
in Fools, Devil’s Disciple and The Madwoman of Chaillot at Theatre in the Round, Next at Wide Variety Theatre, and
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at Heritage Theater Company.
Christine DeZelar-Tiedman (Hitler, Lunatic 3) Christine has been seen in several previous Lex-Ham shows, most
recently The Memorandum. She has also performed with Bedlam Theatre, Cromulent Shakespeare Company, Rosetown
Playhouse, and Heritage Theatre Company, to name a few. In real life, Christine is a Librarian at the University of
Minnesota, and enjoys attending theater, reading, and eating sushi. She would like to thank her husband, Steve, for putting
up with being a theater widower for two months, and for driving her to and fro.
Adam Dielschneider (Karel Švenk/Borivoj Abeles) Originally from Iowa, Adam came to the Twin Cities in 2002 to
attend Northwestern College, where he earned a B.S. in English Writing. While in school, not only did he meet and marry
his wife, Anna, but he also participated in numerous theater productions. He had acting roles in The Boys Next Door,
Papa is All, The Glass Menagerie, and Stage Directions. He also served as Assistant Stage Manager for Quilters and Into
the Woods. Since college, Adam has appeared onstage with several community theater productions, including You Can’t
Take It With You at the Gallery Theater Company in Bloomington and Urinetown at St. Anthony Community Theater.
This is his first performance with Lex-Ham Community Theater.
Dutton Foster (Set Designer) Dutton has directed, designed, and built high-school and middle school shows since 1961.
In recent years he has retired from directing and teaching high-school English, but continues to design and build for St.
Paul Academy and Summit School, his former employer. Dutton is also a published playwright; his most successful opus
has been a one-act melodrama, The Wild Flowering of Chastity, or Chaste Across the Stage, published in about 1970.
Since the turn of the century Dutton’s set work has included (among others) The Laramie Project, A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, The Miracle Worker, Peer Gynt, Into the Woods, The Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music, How to Succeed in
Business Without Really Trying, City of Angels, and Pippin. Dutton recently designed the sets for Lex-Ham’s productions
of The Women, All My Sons, The Fantasticks, and State of the Union.
Beth Henningsen (Clarinetist) Beth has played violin for high school and community theatre productions of The King
and I, The Sound of Music, Oliver, and Fiddler on the Roof. When not playing in pit orchestras, she plays violin for the
Chapel Strings Orchestra and clarinet in the Lex-Ham Community Band.
Jerry Harrison (Mr Opportunist, Big Shot) Jerry last appeared on stage in December 2008 as Warrior #3 in
Comedia Beuragard’s production of A Klingon Christmas Carol. Prior to that he wrote and appeared a science fiction
comedy called KPLA Kethas and Krom in the Morning as the voice of Uncle Krom and various guests.
Kristine Holmgren (Ma’am) Kristine is a former Star Tribune columnist, a Presbyterian pastor and writer. Prior to her
work with Lex-Ham Community Theater, she appeared in the Northfield Art Guild’s productions Crimes of the Heart and
Steel Magnolias. Kristine is the Executive Director of The Dead Feminist Society of Minnesota and an advocate for
gender equity, reproductive freedom and Minnesota women and families. She lives in Como Park with her Scottish
terrier, Eleanor Roosevelt.
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Urban Landreman (Producer) Urban has been involved with Lex-Ham productions since its initial work,
Neighborhood on the Hill in 1996. His primary role is to help assemble a crew of very talented and creative people, give
them the resources they need, solve problems that come up, and then get out of their way. Urban hopes you enjoy the
show as much as he does.
Lisa Lee (Clarinetist) Lisa has played in music ensembles for Lex-Ham Community Theater productions of
The Vegetable, Quilters, and There’s Talk In Town. She was in the cast of Lex-Ham’s James and the Giant Peach and is a
member of the Lex-Ham Community Band and St. Paul JCC Symphony Orchestra.
Shira Levenson (Manicka) Shira has studied theater at the Moscow Art Theater (Moscow, Russia), The National
Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Center (NTI), The St. Petersburg Theater Arts Academy (Russia), The Brave New
Institute (improv training) and The Hangar Theater in Ithaca, NY. She has a BFA in theater from Drake University in Des
Moines, IA. Locally Shira has appeared with 20% Theater Company, The Minneapolis Pinter Studies, Bridge Productions,
Nimbus, Lex-Ham and PSDT. She is proud and grateful to be a part of this important production.
Geordy Levin (Red) Geordy Levin attends Transitions Plus in Minneapolis. He has always loved performing ever since
he was a small child. He has appeared in numerous school plays including Bye Bye Birdie and Once on This Island at
Ramsey IFAC. At the St. Paul JCC, Geordy has appeared as Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, the Rabbi in Fiddler on
the Roof, the Customer in Little Shop of Horrors and the King in Into the Woods. His favorite actress is Christy Carlson
Romano.
David Merry (Head Physician, Lunatic 4) Dave’s first acting experience was reciting “The Night Before Christmas”
when he was five years old in eastern South Dakota. Since then he acted much in college including once when he had
just had a full-length cast removed from his leg and he took a part in which he was required to fall down a flight of stairs.
David considers perform in The Last Cyclist with Lex-Ham a long overdue privilege.
Jennifer Nagel (Props Coordinator) Jennifer is a former auctioneer who still keeps an eye out for great finds. Between
working full time for a county public health department, doing voice-over work, and finishing her business degree, she
satisfies her shopoholic nature by helping source props for the Lex-Ham Community Theater.
Eli Newell (Young Man, Celery, Runner, Lion) Eli, an eighth grader at Talmud Torah of St. Paul, is thrilled to be
making his debut with Lex-Ham Community Theater. Some of his favorite past credits include “Winthrop” in The Music
Man, “Wickersham Brother” in Seussical the Musical (Hillcrest Community Theatre/Youth Performance Company),
“Sammy” in The Odd Potato (Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company), “The Artful Dodger” in Oliver! (New Breath
Productions), “Maxwell” in Generations (blank slate theatre) and “Jack” in Into The Woods (5th Season Entertainment).
Eli also plays piano and clarinet, and studies tap, jazz and ballet. He eagerly looks forward to pursuing his passion in
musical theatre and the performing arts.
Ed Quirin (Costumes) This is Ed’s sixth show with Lex-Ham, having most recently worked on The Memorandum in
2008. When not working on costumes, Ed is pursuing his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding/Plant Genetics at the U of M. He would
like to thank the cast and crew for giving him this opportunity.
“The power surely rests with the lunatics these days
and if I want to get anywhere with them
I’ve got to seem as crazy as they are”
- Mr. Opportunist
5
Jack Rose (Associate Producer, Music Director) serves on the boards of Lex-Ham Community Arts and of the
Independent Computer Consultants Association of Minnesota (ICCA-MN.org). In real life Jack is a computer consultant
and a fan of Minnesota and Wisconsin’s hundreds of miles of bike trails.
Janell Schilman (Secret Lunatic, Other Cyclist, Ms. Hippo) This is Janell’s first production with Lex-Ham
Community Theater, and she is very happy to be part of such a wonderful production. Janell last played, Laura in
Corcoran Park Player’s Production of, Still Life by Noel Coward. When not on stage, you can find her dealing with the
drama of others as a Social Worker. Janell wishes to thank her husband Hideki for his ongoing support and
encouragement, and thank the DCSS theatre group for their continued support of community theatre.
Mark Stevens (Clarinetist) Mark plays flute in Lex-Ham Community Band. In 2009, he has played flute, clarinet, bass
clarinet, alto saxophone, and baritone saxophone in pit orchestras for community theatre or high school productions of the
musicals Cinderella, Singin’ in the Rain, Anything Goes, and Guys and Dolls.
Jennifer Thissen Swain (Stage Manager) Jen started acting in community theatre when she was eight and has been
involved in over 20 productions. Equally at home behind the stage or on it, Jen has been billed as an actor, choreographer,
lighting designer, director, lightboard operator, prop master and stage manager - sometimes wearing two or three hats in
the same production. This is Jen’s first Lex-Ham production and her first show after a five-year hiatus from theatre. She
would like to thank her husband, Justin, for packing her rehearsal night dinners for the past eight weeks (radishes AND
salt - what a lucky woman!) and her family for providing her with props. Grandpa’s bike has been in so many productions
that it really should start getting its own bio!
What You Need to Know about Terezín to Enrich Your Understanding of This Play
by Naomi Patz
Terezín (Theresienstadt, in German) is located 40 miles from Prague. It was built as a walled garrison town and fortress in
the 18th century by the Hapsburg monarchy. During the Second World War, the Nazis evicted the civilian population and
created the concentration camp they called the “Theresienstadt Ghetto.” Terezin was not a death camp (all six death camps
– Auschwitz, Treblinka, Maidanek, Chelmno, Sobibor and Belzec – were located in Poland) but, rather, a work camp and
transit point for the nearly 140,000 Jews who passed through the camp between 1941- 1945.
It was a dreadful place, although a virtual paradise compared to the camps in Poland (“in the east”). At its most crowded,
50,000 prisoners were crammed into a place meant to hold 6,000 people. Families were divided; there were barracks for
men, barracks for women and barracks for children. Approximately 60 people slept crowded into three tiers of bunks in
each poorly heated dormitory room. There was no privacy, no modesty, no personal space. Three to four hundred people
shared a single toilet, and more often than not the toilets were
backed up and overflowing.
They were given very little food – mainly bread, potatoes, cabbage
and turnips. There was virtually no protein in the diet. People lined
up for these bare-subsistence meals holding their plate and mug and
then ate whatever was ladled out standing up.
The situation was particularly desperate for the elderly, many of
whom died of starvation because the Jewish Council of Elders
ordered that they be given the smallest rations in order to have
enough food to keep the children and working people alive.
6
Hunger, exhaustion and disease were a permanent feature of daily life for everyone in the camp.
Despite the meager rations, the camp inmates were forced to work long hours every day of the week. Some were
assigned to assembly lines producing items deemed essential to the German war effort; others were set to meaningless
hard labor. Many draftsmen, designers, artists and accountants worked on reports for the SS, who endlessly
documented what was happening in the camp (and everywhere else under their control as well) with graphs, detailed
statistics, surveys and lavishly illustrated reports. Each camp inmate was
registered in at least 17 files. This work was fraught with tension: mistakes
as simple as a typographical or clerical error would result in immediate,
drastic punishment, even death.
The Jewish Council of Elders organized the worked in the kitchens, the
hospitals and the schools that were set up for the children. After a while,
there was even a department within the Council charged with organizing
“leisure time activities.”
In this environment, what would under normal conditions be insignificant
assumed overwhelming importance: breaking a shoelace or losing a spoon
was nearly catastrophic. In this way, Terezin was like the other camps.
But Terezin was also unique. Much of the intellectual Jewish cream of
European society – painters, writers, composers, musicians and scholars,
and their families – passed through the camp, and most of them contributed
in one way or another to the extraordinary flourishing of culture in this
most unlikely of places. In the bizarre environment of the concentration
camp, they managed to have “an artistic and intellectual life so fierce, so
determined, so vibrant, so fertile as to be almost unimaginable.”
The Holocaust scholar Rebecca Rovit writes, “It defies our understanding to imagine concentration camp inmates
singing, playing classical music, and dancing on makeshift stages or in crowded barracks at the same time that cattle
cars transported their fellow inmates [and, sooner or later, most of them] toward Auschwitz. The grotesquerie of such
events suggests
frivolity and even sacrilege. If people could act in plays and create art while facing death, that would have to mean that
life in the camps could not have been so desperate. But the inmates knew that the camps were evil. And we know that
they were very evil. And we now know that people sang and danced in spite of and because of the Nazi hell and the
murderous ‘Final Solution’. ”
Norbert Frýd, a Czech theater director who was deported to Terezín in August 1943 and survived the war, expressed it
this way: “If Terezín was not hell itself, like Auschwitz, it was the anteroom to hell. But culture was still possible, and
for many this frenetic clinging to an almost hypertrophy of culture was the final assurance. We are human beings and
we remain human beings, they were saying in this way, despite everything! And if we must perish, the sacrifice must
not have been made in vain. We must give it some meaning!” Mirko Tuma wrote, “The ghetto, since its beginning,
was filled with people who were professional artists or dabbled in the arts as dilettantes – all of them knowing that the
only means to survive, if at all, was for the spirit to transcend the pain of the body… . Heroism was in the will to
create, to paint, to write, to perform and to compose in hell.”
For Viktor Ullman, a pianist, music critic and composer who was interned in Terezín, it was a sacred mission: “We did
not simply sit down by the waters of Babylon and weep, but evinced a desire to produce art that was entirely
commensurate with our will to live.” Ullman, who wrote the daring opera The Emperor of Atlantis in Terezín, was sent
on a transport to Auschwitz on October 14, 1944 and to the gas chamber immediately upon arrival.
Continued on Page 8
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Continued from Page 7
As Ludek Eliash, a theater director who acted in productions in Terezín, describes it: “… People were dying, transports
were departing … if an actor didn’t turn up for a rehearsal, he was gone [on a transport to Auschwitz or another of the
death camps in the east]…. But whatever we were doing, we were stubbornly connecting it with some happy future.
Reality and theater were completely different things.”
And Jana Šedová, coauthor of the 1961 version of The Last Cyclist, wrote: “Hardly anywhere in the world was there such
a grateful audience as in the attics of Terezín. Hardly a single actor anywhere else has ever been rewarded for his endeavours by such love from his public. … a great hunger for culture in a place where there was not even enough bread to eat.”
The commitment by the professionals and amateurs who took part in the theatrical productions was astounding.
Performances took place in the evening, after everyone – including all of the performers – had completed an exhausting
day’s work on meager food rations. Rehearsals, critiques of the performances and even a theater workshop for aspiring
actors were held even later, well into the night.
Although at first the plays, concerts, lectures and paintings were done secretly, they were later tolerated and then
encouraged by the Council of Elders. After a while, the Nazis cynically exploited the cultural and artistic activities for
their own ends. There are two particularly egregious examples of this:
One: The Danish government maintained active concern throughout the war for Danish Jewish citizens interned by the
Nazis. To that end, in 1944 they requested a visit to the camp to be conducted under the auspices of the Swiss Red Cross.
The SS undertook a vast “beautification” campaign which involved a physical upgrading of the facilities that the
delegation would be taken to see – cafes, sports fields, a bandstand, a merry-go-round, and even the printing of fake
currency – as well as the deportation of the sick and elderly to reduce overcrowding and increase the “healthy appearance”
of the prisoners who would become performers in this Potemkin village-like travesty. The visit was so successful and the
deception so complete that the delegation decided not to continue on to inspect Auschwitz, which was part of its original
plan. (Whether or not it would have been allowed to happen is another matter.)
Two: The Red Cross visit was followed by the creation of a propaganda film. One of the most accomplished of the theater people interned in Terezín, Kurt Gerron, was forced to be its director. The film came to be called “The Fuhrer Gives
a Town to the Jews.” It presented a totally whitewashed portrait of the camp and completely concealed the deplorable
conditions in which the prisoners lived. Virtually everyone involved in producing, directing, filming and acting in the
movie was sent immediately afterward to transports to
Auschwitz. A fragment of the film is preserved in the
archives of the Ghetto Museum at Terezín.
A true picture of conditions at Terezín is starkly
revealed in the drawings and paintings made secretly
by some of the artists in the camp.
The Last Cyclist was written and directed by Karel
Švenk in Terezín in 1943.
Drawings are by Bedrich Fritta.
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Special Thanks Go To
Anchor Bank - St. Paul
blank slate theatre
Concordia University - St. Paul
Czech and Slovak Cultural Center
Czech and Slovak Sokol Minnesota
Express Bike Shop
Good Samaritan United Methodist Church
McTeer Systems
New Prague Arts Council
Saint Catherine University
Saint Paul Academy and Summit School
Saint Paul Neighborhood Network
Saint Paul Jewish Community Center
Skyway YMCA
Stogies on Grand
Warner Stellian
Jessa Bender
Lizzy Egbert
Renee Gust
Ann Hoffer
Alex Locke
Odegaard family
Naomi Patz
Lisa Peschel
Ben Savin
Anabel Wirt
Carol Ann Winther
2009 Friends Campaign Donors
Angels ($100 and over)
Michele and Jerry Cromer-Poirée
William Helfmann
Urban Landreman
Joy Lindsay
Patrons ($50 to $99)
Jack Brondom and Pat McGowan
Dutton Foster
Natalie Westreich
Backers ($25 to $49)
Bonnie Beverly
Linda Fei
Mark and Darlene Levenson
Lynne Vannelli
Friend (Up to $24)
Jane Kerr
Holly Windle
Terezín
Naomi Patz is author of seven books, including
Explaining Reform Judaism, with Rabbi Eugene
Borowitz, and The Jewish Holiday Treasure Trail
(Behrman House), and editor of many books and
articles. She has written numerous scripts and
parodies translated from Hebrew (with her husband),
The Third Cry, a fantasy play by Yaakov Cahan, and
wrote the book for A Word to the Wise, a setting to
music of three Jewish folktales. She has also written
many creative services for the Sabbath and Rosh
Hashanah as well as a prayer book and women’s
Haggadah. She has also written monographs on the
Jewish communities of Dvur Kralove nad Labem
and Jihlava in the Czech Republic. She is a
graduate of Barnard College and holds masters
degrees in English Literature (Old Dominion
University) and Jewish Education (Hebrew Union
College-Jewish Institute of Religion). Hebrew
Union College has awarded her an honorary
doctorate.
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Lex-Ham Community Theater
Since its start in 1995, the Lex-Ham Community Theater has striven to achieve its mission of producing quality
theatrical experiences by and for the residents of the Lexington-Hamline and surrounding neighborhoods in St. Paul.
The company has enhanced the local theatrical scene by
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Selecting lesser-known works by noted playwrights, such as Soul Gone Home by Langston Hughes,
The Vegetable by F. Scott Fitzgerald; and Motomorphosis by Václav Havel.
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Giving the regional and world premieres of works by local authors, such as There’s Talk in Town by John Solensten
and Bullets and Beauties by Urban Landreman;
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Reviving wonderful classics such as The Women by Clare Boothe Luce, Under the Gaslight by Augustin Daly, and
All My Sons by Arthur Miller; and
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Winning awards for Outstanding Performance by an Actor (Shad Cooper) and Sound Design (David Lind) at the
2003 and 2005 Minnesota Association of Community Theatres Play Festivals.
The theater offers many opportunities for people to get involved at any level or time committment. Opportunities
range from attending an evening reading of a play written by Shakespeare or which won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama to
enrolling in a beginning or advanced acting class.
To get involved contact theater@LexHamArts.org or www.LexHamArts.org/theater
Upcoming events:
July 17 - Shakespeare Reading Series: All’s Well That Ends Well
August 6-9 - Pizzazz by Hugh Leonard
August 14 - Pulitzer Prize Winner Reading Series: Street Scene by Elmer Rice
Czech and Slovak Cultural Center
Czech and Slovak Sokol Minnesota
Czech and Slovak Cultural Center of
Minnesota is a non-prot organization serving
since 2002 both as resource for Minnesotans
interested in Central Europe and as point of
contact for people from Czech and Slovak
Republics. CSCC develops and sponsors Czech
and Slovak symposia, courses, exhibits, literary
circles, artists, performing groups and
speakers. CSCC also promotes business and
cultural relationships between Minnesota and
the Czech and Slovak Republics.
Czech and Slovak Sokol Minnesota is afliated with American Sokol,
which grew out of an international movement founded in 1862 by Dr.
Miroslav Tyrs. We are a social, cultural, educational and
gymnastic organization. Through our many social activities and
educational programs, we seek to preserve and transmit the vitality of
our Czech, Slovak and immigrant heritage to future generations.
St. Paul Jewish Community Center
Good Samaritan United Methodist Church
For nearly 80 years, the Saint Paul JCC’s
mission remains to strengthen Greater St. Paul
by nurturing physical, intellectual, social and
spiritual growth in an inclusive environment
dened by Jewish values and culture.
We CARE --We are a Christian Community of Acceptance,
Reaching out to others and Engaging members in vital ministry.
The historic ýesko-Slovanský Podporující Spolek (C.S.P.S.) Hall at
383 Michigan Street in Saint Paul has been our home since its
construction in 1887, and the focal point for our activities in Saint
Paul. It was declared a National and State Historic Site in 1977, placed
on the National Register of Historic Sites, and is the longest serving
Czech-Slovak cultural center in the United States.
blank slate theatre
blank slate theatre is a youth development organization collaborating
with artists ages 12 to 18 in producing and performing theatrical
productions