Claudia Stevens

Claudia Stevens brings Auschwitz musician to stage

By JEWISH REVIEW

article created on: 2008-10-15T00:00:00

The Oregon Holocaust Resource Center presents “An Evening with Madame F” at 2 p.m., Nov. 2 at the World Trade Center Auditorium.
 
The one-woman play features Claudia Stevens as an elderly survivor of Auschwitz.
 
The performance benefits OHRC, which “exists to tell the story of the Holocaust from the crucial perspective of the survivors, refugees and liberators, primarily to teach the teachers the many important lessons that come to us from this event.”

In “An Evening with Madame F,” Stevens takes on the persona of Holocaust survivor Fanja Fenelson, who, as a youth, performed in the women’s orchestra at Auschwitz. Stevens uses her talents as a singer, musician and actress to depict the survival story of women musicians who, through their music, song and drama, lived through the Holocaust.
 
Stevens holds degrees in music from Vassar College, University of California at Berkeley, and Boston University. She is a visiting scholar in music at the College of William and Mary.
 
She has written numerous solo plays, including “The Poisoner on the Train,” “Dreadful Story, Guys” and “Blue Lias, which she wrote while completing a residency at Brandeis University.
 
As a musician, she has been a featured artist on National Public Radio’s Performance Today.
 
The play will provide support for OHRC programs. The OHRC provides teacher workshops and seminars on Holocaust history with teaching strategies to help students learn moral decision-making.
 
OHRC is also the steward for the Oregon Holocuast Memoiral in Portland’s Washington Park. The center provides docents for school groups and others.
 
Tickets for Madame F are $25 general admission, $15 for students and seniors, or $50 for premium tickets, which include a wine reception. For ticket information, call 503-245-2733 or go online at www.ohrconline.org/html/ohrc_events.html.