Pascack Valley Students Stage Play On Personal Pain Of Holocaust Survivor

A production centering around the personal pain and triumph to come out of the Holocaust will be staged at Pascack Valley High School this month.

“Letters to Sala” is based on a true story. It is a drama that centers around Sala Garncarz Kirschner. She wrote about the horrors and hardships of the Nazi labor camps in more than 350 letters spanning five years. She kept the letters secret for 50 years, but then shows them to her grown daughter, Ann.

Ann learns that her mother had a significant impact on Holocaust documentation, forcing Ann to ask: What must be done with the letters?

Tickets cost $12 for adults, $5 for students. The production will be staged Nov. 19 at 7 p.m, Nov. 21 at 1 and 7 p.m., and Nov. 22 at 1 p.m. at Pascack Valley High School. To purchse tickets, visit pvhstheatre.org or pay at the door.

Arlene Hutton, the play’s author, will give a talkback following the 7 p.m. performance Nov. 21.

A traveling exhibit featuring copies of the letters will be on display at the high school through Nov. 30. The exhibit provides attendees with a graphic narrative of Kirschner’s life and a first-hand view of the drama that unfolded among Jews forced to work in the camps during World War II.

(Pictured: Students in leading “Letters to Sala” roles include, from left, Vanessa Rutigliano as Raizel, Maggie Capone as Ala, Amy Santo as Young Sala, Brenna Fitzmaurice as Ann, and Julia Ganbarg as Caroline./Courtesy of Nayda Rondon)