Stage Notes to present 'And a Child Shall Lead'

All-youth cast brings the voices of Holocaust-era children to the stage in true story from Terezin

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title, Holt Wrecker, R&R lawn specialists, Gibson Pharmacy.)

By Michael V. Hannigan

When are children not children?

When they are stripped of all dignity and forced into a Nazi concentration camp in Terezin, Czechoslovakia, beaten, starved, and eventually sent away to die in extermination camps.

Also when they stand on a small-town stage decades later, giving those children a voice so we don’t forget -- and never repeat -- that dark history.

Tonight (May 9), an all-youth cast will open “And a Child Shall Lead” at Stage Notes Academy of Performing Arts in Athens. The opening coincides with the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Terezin.

Although the cast is made up entirely of kids, don't make the mistake of thinking this is a "children's play." This is serious theater performed by serious actors. A cure for the diet of fast food entertainment our culture keeps serving up.

But be prepared if you decide to dig in; you'll be chewing on this show long after you leave.

The play by Michael Slade is built on the actual words of the children of Terezin: their diary entries, poems, and selections from a secret newspaper they produced. The Nazis had dressed the camp up as a “model” settlement to fool outsiders, but the children saw the truth and found their own way to speak it.

The structure of the play gives each actor a chance to shine, and this cast delivers from oldest to youngest. Congratulations to Reagan Greenwood, Cayla Hemphill, River Lang, Jett Mercer, Maci Pate, Madeleine Pham, Melody Torres, Gerardo Villegas, Adalynn Lujan, and Brentlee Warren on a beautiful performance.

I’ve said “all-youth cast,” but there is one adult who lurks in the shadows, occasionally stepping on stage in brief moments of terror. He represents the Nazis but goes unnamed both in the play and the program, so he’ll remain unnamed here as well.

Congratulations also to the husband-and-wife directing team of Savannah Joblin-Smith and Zachary Smith, who have done an exceptional job preparing this cast to perform emotional, disturbing material with grace.

Performances will be held May 9–10 and May 16–17 at 7 p.m., with a matinee May 18 at 3 p.m., at Stage Notes Academy, 224 N. Prairieville St. in Athens. Tickets are available at stagenotesapa.com.

Parental guidance is suggested due to the subject matter.