On-Site Live Performance: “Vilna: A Resistance Story”
Inspired by one of the most powerful Yiddish anthems of the Holocaust, “Zog Nit Keinmol,” Vilna: A Resistance Story, a captivating sell-out musical makes its way to the Museum for a live performance before heading to New York City.
The story features characters based on the young artists of the bohemian city of Vilna who form a secret brigade in the ghetto and find creative ways to resist. Led by a rebellious teenage girl and a young poet, the partisans narrowly escape the Nazis to the forest, where they take up arms and reclaim their beloved city. Through the power of music, their revolutionary spirit lives on. With a vibrant klezmer influenced pop score by composer/lyricist Kevin Cloud and a book by Lisa Kenner Grissom, Vilna: A Resistance Story is inspired by real-life Jewish heroes Vitka Kempner, Abba Kovner, Hirsh Glick, Avram Sutzkever, and others.
Following the performance will be a roundtable discussion with Vilna songwriter Kevin Cloud, book author Lisa Kenner Grissom, and Kelley Szany, Illinois Holocaust Museum’s Senior Vice President of Education & Exhibitions. The conversation will be moderated by Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune Music Critic.
Reservations required.
Non-Members: Museum admission; Members: Free
Primary Sponsors: Ira, Stanley, Christine, Caroline, and Jeffry Pfeffer
Community Partners: Kol Hadash; League of Chicago Theaters