Based on an original concept by Toby Singer
Budapest, Budapest
Book & lyrics by Ali Viterbi
Music & lyrics by Toby Singer
Tickets $25-54*
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The Whole Megillah Jewish New Play Festival presents Budapest, Budapest
Book & lyrics by Ali Viterbi
Music & lyrics by Toby Singer
Based on an original concept by Toby Singer
In 1940’s Budapest, two important Jewish historical figures rose to prominence. One was Hannah Senesh, a poet and member of the Jewish Parachutists of Mandate Palestine. At 23, she was captured by the Germans and killed. The second was Rudolf Kastner, a political fixer who helped 1,684 Jews escape during the Holocaust. Yet of the two, Senesh is the only to enter the Jewish people’s pantheon of heroes. While she became known as a modern Joan of Arc, Kastner was convicted of having “sold his soul to the devil.” While Senesh was buried among the heroes at Mount Hertzl, Kastner was assassinated by his fellow countrymen. History remembers Kastner as a villain, while it lauds Senesh as one of its greatest heroes. But really: when we look back into the dark, what story will we tell? So asks the opening lyric of the new musical Budapest Budapest, which tells the unknown story of Rudolf Kastner and asks: what is the cost of redemption? And what does it really mean to be a hero? Budapest Budapest dives deep into our collective societal ideas about heroes, sacrifice, and legacy. In a time of increasing antisemitism and political turmoil, Budapest Budapest tells an important story about guilt, accountability, and the impossible choices of war.
