Live Staged Reading & Conversation: Echoes of Vilna

Join us for a powerful staged reading of Echoes of Vilna, a moving theatrical adaptation of the wartime diary of a young Jewish boy living in the Vilna Ghetto during the Holocaust. Told through the modern-day reflections of his cousin and only surviving family member, Sarah Kalivetz, this dramatized reading brings to life the intimate thoughts, daily struggles, and quiet acts of resistance that defined Yitskhok’s world.

Set against immersive staging and accompanied by Cantor Andrea Rae  Markowicz performing songs in Yiddish written in the Vilna Ghetto, Vilna! captures the vibrancy of pre-war Jewish life, the descent into oppression, and the unwavering human spirit that persisted in the face of genocide. The diary, brilliantly portrayed on stage, preserves the legacy of a boy who refused to be forgotten, and a community that fought to maintain dignity, culture, and hope.

Following the performance, a panel conversation with the playwright and creative collaborators will explore the process of bringing this historical testimony to life and the ongoing relevance of cultural resistance, memory, and bearing witness through art.

Director: Debra Goldman, Assistant Director: Sue Jacobson, Playwright: Ken Newbury

Reservations required. Free to the public.