Susan Shear
In 2006, shortly after moving to SaddleBrooke, Steve and I began working with the SaddleBrooke Theatre Guild. Later we formed The PrimeTime Players, now in its ninth season. Without any funds or a support base at first, we were not sure how to begin but ultimately we decided to produce my play, No Way Out. None of us expected a large audience. In fact, we said that if fifty people attended each of the two performances at DesertView Performing Arts Center, we’d be pleased. To our great surprise we sold out both nights with a waiting list to boot! Since then, we’ve been asked time and again by many who saw it and those who didn’t, whether No Way Out would ever be presented again. Fortunately the answer is yes! The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is sponsoring a One Night Special Performance on the Main Stage (Alice Holsclaw Theatre) at the Temple of Music and Art in downtown Tucson on Thursday, November 13 at 7:00 p.m. with a Q & A after the play.
No Way Out began accidentally fifteen years ago when my mother showed me a few letters she had saved in a tiny tin box: letters no one had looked at for over 50 years. Over time the family uncovered over 500 letters which I used to create educational workshops, school curricula and eventually a play which has been presented in dozens of cities across the country, in universities, schools, history centers, theatres and museums including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum three times. What makes No Way Out unique is that it is the gentle true story of a family, my family, geographically torn apart during World War II, whose only means of communication is through their letters.
The story unfolds letter by letter accompanied by images of primary documents and photographs projected on stage. This multi-media presentation contains no horrific or graphic scenes or images so it is appropriate for all ages. No Way Out will be performed by seven talented actors from throughout Tucson including Ron Andrea from SaddleBrooke. Please join us on November 13 to experience the seldom told story of Nazi measures that insidiously isolated and shattered vibrant lives, the indifference of Nations that looked the other way and family love and devotion that the Nazis could not destroy.
Tickets at $15 are available from Susan Shear at 825-8876 or [email protected] or The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona 577-9393.