The New Jewish Theatre will host a panel discussion and several post-performance “talk-backs” in conjunction with its next production, “Way to Heaven,” which runs from Jan. 26 through Feb. 12.

The play, by Spanish playwright Juan Mayorga, is a fictionalized account of the International Red Cross’ inspection of the Theresienstadt ghetto/concentration camp in June 1944. Nazi leaders orchestrated an elaborate charade to fool the visitors about conditions at Theresienstadt. The play explores the way art can be used for either positive or negative purposes; in this case how theater or performance can be manipulated to distort the reality and deceive onlookers.

To better understand this concept, the New Jewish Theatre in collaboration with the Jewish Community Relations Council will host a panel discussion at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31 in the Wool Studio Theatre in the Staenberg Family Complex, 2 Millstone Campus Drive.

The panel, moderated by JCRC Executive Director Batya Abramson-Goldstein, will explore “Art as Illumination: Way to Heaven, a Play about the Holocaust.” Panelists will include Dan Reich (Holocaust Museum and Learning Center), Henry Schvey (Washington University Performing Arts Department), Doug Finlayson (Webster University Theatre Conservatory) and Gad Guterman (Webster University Theatre Conservatory). The panel is free and open to the community.

In addition, NJT will host post-performance talkbacks after several of the performances:

• Thursday, Feb. 2 – Warren Rosenblum, Professor of German History, Webster University

• Sunday, Feb. 5 (matinee) – Dan Reich, Holocaust Museum and Learning Center

• Wednesday, Feb. 8 – Karen Aroesty, Anti-Defamation League (subject to change)

• Thursday, Feb. 9 – Gad Guterman, Webster University Conservatory (subject to change)

Each talkback, including actors and the director, is designed to illuminate or shed light on the many issues brought up by the play.

Tickets for the production are available through the NJT website, www.newjewishtheatre.org or the box office, 314-442-3283.