Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library

Overview

Produced by:: Luna Stage
Dates:: October 18 - November 10, 2024
Run Time:: 1 Hour, 30 Minutes
Intermission:: No
Theater:: Showing in Theater
Tickets:: $44 (incl. a $4 fee) | 59E59 Members: $30

Show Info

By Jenny Lyn Bader
Directed by Ari Laura Kreith

With Ella Dershowitz, Drew Hirshfield, and Brett Temple

Berlin, 1933. With martial law in effect, political activism has become a capital crime.

A young Gestapo officer arrests a graduate student suspected of illegal research. This interrogation promises to be most challenging as he faces the iconic 20th-century thinker Hannah Arendt.

Is she innocent? Or an enemy of the state? Inspired by real events, this fantastical drama delves into the life and mind of one of history's most profound thinkers.

Please join us for post-show talkbacks after the following performances:

Saturday, October 19 at 7:15PM, with guests Roger Berkowitz (winner of Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought and the Academic Director of Hannah Arendt Center) and Lyndsey Stonebridge (shortlist for 2024 George Orwell Prize in political writing, author of We Are Free to Change the World)
Wednesday, October 23 at 2:15PM, with playwright Jenny Lyn Bader
Tuesday, October 29 at 7:15PM, with guests Ann Arnold and Isabella Fiske, founders of the Mark Schonwetter Holocaust Education Foundation
Wednesday, October 30 at 7:15PM, with playwright Jenny Lyn Bader and beststelling novelist Dawn Tripp about writing characters from history
Sunday, November 3 at 7:15PM, with guest Roger Berkowitz (winner of Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought and the Academic Director of Hannah Arendt Center)
Wednesday, November 6 at 2:15PM, with playwright Jenny Lyn Bader
Thursday, November 7 at 2:15PM, with playwright Jenny Lyn Bader
Friday, November 8 at 2:15PM, with playwright Jenny Lyn Bader

Ella

Dershowitz

Drew

Hirshfield

Brett

Temple

Lauren Helpern,

Scenic Design

Deborah Caney,

Costume Design

Cameron Filepas,

Lighting Design

Megan Culley,

Sound Design

Photo Caption: Brett Temple and Ella Dershowitz in MRS. STERN WANDERS THE PRUSSIAN STATE LIBRARY
Photo: Valerie Terranova

Photo Caption: Drew Hirshfield and Ella Dershowitz in MRS. STERN WANDERS THE PRUSSIAN STATE LIBRARY
Photo: Valerie Terranova

Photo Caption: Ella Dershowitz and Brett Temple in MRS. STERN WANDERS THE PRUSSIAN STATE LIBRARY
Photo: Valerie Terranova

Photo Caption: Ella Dershowitz and Drew Hirshfield in MRS. STERN WANDERS THE PRUSSIAN STATE LIBRARY
Photo: Valerie Terranova

Photo Caption: Ella Dershowitz in MRS. STERN WANDERS THE PRUSSIAN STATE LIBRARY
Photo: Valerie Terranova

Producing Company

Luna Stage

Luna Stage develops and produces vibrant plays about local and global experiences, and brings communities together for artistic events that spark conversations, create understanding, and inspire change. Founded in Montclair NJ in 1993, Luna Stage moved to West Orange in 2010 to become an arts anchor of the underserved Valley neighborhood. As producer, innovator, and educator, Luna is dedicated to eliminating barriers to participation, and nurturing the next generation of audiences and artists.

Reviews

"A powerful and timely tour de force!" – Voice of America

"Gripping... A play for our times!" – Jersey Arts

"An intimate, riveting revelation of insight and courage expressed in unexpected ways... providing optimism for the fate of the human race." – NJ Arts Maven

"Thoughtful and thought-provoking! Get tickets today and take your sharpest friends with you... I came away wanting to know more, and with the desire to engage someone very far on the other side of the ideological fence. The right time is now" – Q Onstage

"This is a very worthy play and I won’t be surprised if it makes the leap to New York City where it really does belong... When you go, see if you can guess who Mrs. Stern is..." – Broadway Radio

"An absorbing historical drama"
"Dramatizes a pivotal eventin Hannah Arendt's life with engaging theatricality."
"Through her accomplished command of dramatic writing, Ms. Bader turns this factual incident into a stimulating and suspenseful 90-minute play." – Theater Scene

"Fascinating and historically accurate new drama"
"Jenny Lyn Bader is a writer of keen intelligence and insight" – Theater Pizzazz

"The acting is terrific" – Not Just About Sex

★★★★ "A brilliant play" – Broadway Showbiz

"Remarkably profound" – Pages on Stages

"An evocative exploration of resilience, identity, and the pursuit of freedom under oppressive circumstances." – Times Square Chronicles

"An intellectually stimulating and profoundly moving historical drama" – OffOffOnline

★★★★ "Playwright Jenny Lyn Bader has written a beautiful, insightful story that invites us to think, challenges us to believe and opens a space for us to learn."
"Director Ari Laura Kreith builds an almost magical atmosphere" – The Front Row Center

"Bader has done her research and transformed it into a smart, engaging drama" – NY Theatre Wire

"Not to be missed"
"A fascinating intellectual play about philosophy and finding common ground in diametrically opposed people." – Hi! Drama