Pennsylvania Playhouse’s “The Lucky Star” is a moving and profound production that has heart-breaking parallels to what is happening in America today.
The play that recreates letters sent during the Holocaust to a Polish immigrant in the United States is gripping and somber at times, but ultimately hopeful and focuses on familial connections in the shadow of what has been lost.
“The Lucky Star” is through Feb. 8 at Pennsylvania Playhouse, 390 Illick’s Mill Road, Bethlehem.
The play is based on the true story recounted in Richard Hollander’s book “Every Day Lasts a Year: A Jewish Family’s Correspondence from Poland.”
After the death of his parents, Hollander found letters in his parents’ attic, that told a story of a family he never knew which included his father’s mother, three sisters, and their husbands and children. The letters were written from Krakow, Poland, between 1939 and 1942 and document how his family was enduring progressively more devastating measures under the Nazi occupation.
The play is a bit is like a puzzle that doesn’t have all the pieces, but as the letters are dramatized, it is enough to give a dramatic picture of the increasingly restrictive life under Nazi rule.
Brad Campbell is memorable as Richard Hollander, who starts out as a somewhat detached narrator but is slowly drawn into and becomes part of the story.
Joshua Steinhouse is powerful as Richard’s determined father Joseph Hollander, who emigrates to New York with his wife and ward only to come up against the immigration machine which denies the trio because of their not having the right paperwork and fears that they will need to be supported by social welfare.
Steinhouse’s Joshua is resolutely sober as he battles the United States government to avoid deportation to Poland, which would mean certain death.
The ensemble cast plays multiple family members from Joshua’s doting mother (a warm Amy Cramer) to Joshua’s energetic nieces (and earnest Katie James and optimistic Ericka Csencsits) to Joshua’s sister Dola (a dogged Kelly Herbert James) who finds love in the most unlikely of places.
The talented ensemble also includes Jerry Brucker, Melissa Miller and Amy Oselkin.
Cameron Kunsman is effective as Richard’s son Craig who acts as Richard’s conscience and inner voice as he works through regrets that stem from his unfortunate procrastination.
The set by Brett Oliveira is intriguingly minimal, simply set with chairs around the edge and raised dais in the center. The stage floor is cleverly decorated with script greetings while dozens of letters hang from the ceiling.
Director Sarah Elizabeth Yorke keeps everything tight and coherent as the action moves back and forth from the past to the present to the past.
Enlightening and heartfelt, “The Lucky Star” is a satisfying and thought-provoking production.
Tickets are Adults: $30, Seniors: $26, Students: $18
The Jan.31 performance is being offered as "Pay What You Are Able."
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30, 31, Feb. 6 and 7; and 3 p.m. Feb. 1 and 8.
For information, call 610-865-6665 or go to www.paplayhouse.org/.