MOUNT VERNON — “And a Child Shall Lead” is a play MTVarts’ Bruce Jacklin wanted to do for 10 years.
Michael Slade wrote the play, which MTVarts produced in partnership with Kenyon College Hillel and Kenyon’s Office of Community Partnerships.
Partnering with Kenyon gave Jacklin the push to produce the play 10 years later.
The title is taken from a verse in the Book of Isaiah. The verse has a message of hope and acknowledgment that the world still needs to be redeemed: “And a little child shall lead them.”
“I am so impressed with the work, care, and detail that MTVarts has put into this production of ‘And a Child Shall Lead,’” Kenyon College Chaplain Marc W. Bragin said in an MTVarts press release.
“Holocaust education is important because it demonstrates the dangers of prejudice, discrimination, and dehumanization.
“By looking at our history, we can better provide a space for deep reflection about contemporary issues that affect societies around the world.”
The story of ‘And a Child Shall Lead’
The Nazis billed the ghetto of Terezin (Theresienstadt) as the “Fuhrer’s gift to the Jews.”
Located outside Prague, it was a place where artists, composers, intellectuals, and Jews of renown could live safely. In reality, the Nazis created it to cover up their genocide. They turned it into a place of starvation, disease, and constant dread of transport to death camps.
The story centers on the fewer than 100 children who survived Terezin.
Amid the chaos, they constructed lives of hope and beauty — playing, studying, making art, and writing an underground newspaper despite their unimaginable circumstances. Trains whistle by as the children try to survive.
They weave their historical poems and stories throughout the production.
To gain a deeper understanding of what atrocities occurred, MTVarts went to Hillel in January to look through documents and watch historical videos of Terezin.
MTVarts support
Jacklin directs the play with help from Assistant Director Christopher Hartman and Production Manager Mary Elizabeth Harris. Allison Smith did the painting work.
The cast includes Mehmet Ali Schubel, Nora Gotschall, Simon Ryals, Jillian Snow, Sadie Ryals, Briggs Swallow, Zach Cramer, Mollie Jurkowitz, Faith Major, Jenna Jurkowitz, Izzy Cook, and Lanah Andrews.
Kyleigh Woods, Allison Smith, Leah Miller, Jack Davis, and Jaxon Reed support the production.
The Knox County ESC Youth Enrichment Series offered a free performance on May 2 to secondary students studying the Holocaust.
The 12 young actors will perform two more shows at the Knox Memorial Theater. Showtimes are Saturday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 5, at 2 p.m.
In Judaism, Shabbat begins on Friday evening. It is a time of rest and reflection of the past week. To recognize this, there will be no Friday evening performance.
Tickets are $20 for the main floor and $15 for balcony seats. Tickets are available online at MTVarts.com, the Mount Vernon Arts Consortium Office at 214 S. Main St., or by calling 740-462-4ART(278). Tickets will be available at the Memorial Box Office one hour before curtain.
The runtime is approximately 100 minutes. Parental guidance is advised. The play is produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc.
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