Holocaust survivor Ivan Becker will appear in a forum at the Westport Country Playhouse on Wednesday, March 29.
Ivan Becker: Holocaust survivor. Contributed photo
The 7 p.m. event is presented by the Playhouse, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and TEAM Westport.
Called “From Hate to Hope: A Conversation with Holocaust Kindertransport Survivor Ivan Backer,” it will take place in the Playhouse’s White Barn Center, adjacent to the theater.
Free by reservation and open to the public, the event is presented in conjunction with the Playhouse’s April production of the musical memoir, “The Pianist of Willesden Lane.”
To reserve a seat, call the Playhouse Box Office at (203) 227-4177.
Ivan Backer, 87, is the author of “My Train to Freedom: A Jewish Boy’s Journey from Nazi Europe to a Life of Activism.”
Like the subject of “The Pianist of Willesden Lane,” Backer was able to flee Nazi Europe on the Kindertransport, the “children’s trains,” organized by Sir Nicholas Winton who almost single-handedly rescued 669 children.
After attending a Christian boarding school in England, he came to America in 1944. He earned degrees in history and theology and became an Episcopal parish priest before serving in various positions at Trinity College in Hartford.
He says his book, based on interviews with family members and other survivors, raises the question: “For what purpose was I spared the Holocaust?”
Marji Lipshez-Shapiro, ADL senior associate director, will moderate the conversation. Funding for the event is provided by the Anita Shorr “Step in and Be a Hero” Fund.
In “The Pianist of Willesden Lane,” a young Jewish girl escapes the Holocaust via Kindertransport.
The unique piece, starring Grammy-nominated pianist and storyteller Mona Golabek, is the true story of Golabek’s mother Lisa Jura. Lisa was a young piano prodigy dreaming about her concert debut in Vienna.
With new ordinances under the Nazi regime, everything for Lisa changed, except for her love of music and the pursuit of her dream.
Golabek intertwines the true story of family, hope, and survival with piano selections by Grieg, Chopin, Beethoven, Debussy, Bach, and even a little Gershwin. The production is adapted and directed by Hershey Felder.
“The Pianist of Willesden Lane” will have a limited, seven-performance engagement at the Playhouse from Wednesday, April 5 through Sunday, April 9.
