In St. Louis, Holocaust plays ask: Who betrays the Jews when it counts

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Published August 25, 2025

What does it truly mean to be an ally—especially when the cost becomes unbearable?

That question lies at the heart of two one-act plays being presented as staged readings at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum on Thursday, Aug. 28 from 6 to 8 p.m.

“When Allies Go Dark” confronts the painful reality that standing with the persecuted is easy—until it isn’t. Through powerful readings and live musical performances, the evening explores moments when loyalty falters, silence takes over and those who once promised to stand firm instead walk away.

One of the featured plays is Bertolt Brecht’s “The Jewish Wife.” Set in 1930s Germany, it follows a Jewish woman packing her bags to leave her Aryan husband. Though she insists her departure is only temporary and meant to protect his career, their charged dialogue reveals the truth: paranoia, fear and rising antisemitism have already destroyed their marriage.

The second piece, “Address Unknown,” is adapted from Kathrine Kressmann Taylor’s 1938 novella. Told entirely through an exchange of letters, the two-person play charts the devastating unraveling of friendship between Max Eisenstein, a Jewish art dealer in San Francisco, and Martin Schulse, his German business partner who returns home as Nazism tightens its grip.

Both works are being directed by Kathleen Sitzer, former artistic director of the New Jewish Theatre. Sitzer has long envisioned staged readings as part of the museum’s educational programming.

“When they redid the museum, I was hoping there would be a theater, but the auditorium space is very adequate for doing staged readings,” said Sitzer, who led NJT for 22 years. “I’m hoping that this will be the inaugural production for a series, and it will be ongoing.”

The plays will be interwoven with live musical performances, culminating in the powerful “Cabaret” showstopper “What Would You Do?”—a finale Sitzer calls the perfect way to close the evening.

“I hope what audiences take away is that they can do something, too,” she said. “It’s not just up to an individual. It’s up to everyone to take a role in antisemitism and get involved in some way that feels comfortable to them, especially in this current environment with the level of antisemitism being as high as it is.”

Tickets to the event are $8 and available here.