RUTKA, a world premiere indie-rock musical based on Rutka's Notebook will be presented in Fall 2024 at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

RUTKA, a powerful new indie-rock musical adapted from Rutka’s Notebook: A Voice from the Holocaust, will make its world premiere at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park this upcoming fall, in the first stage of its future development. 

Previews will begin on Sunday, October 13th, 2024 with opening night set for Thursday, October 17th, with the run scheduled through Sunday, November 10th, 2024. 

RUTKA features music and lyrics by recording artists Jocelyn Mackenzie and Jeremy Lloyd Styles formerly of the Brooklyn-based indie-rock band Pearl and the Beard. Book is by award-winning playwright and multiple Emmy Award nominee Neena Beber. The production is directed by former Artistic Director of The National Playwrights Conference at The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Wendy C. Goldberg.

RUTKA is a contemporary rock musical based on the internationally acclaimed Rutka’s Notebook: A Voice from the Holocaust, a diary by 14-year-old Rutka Laskier. Rutka documented her thoughts and experiences during a three-month period in 1943 while living in the Jewish Ghetto in Bedzin, Poland. Her diary would remain hidden for 63 years until it was published in 2006. Following its relatively recent discovery and authentication by scholars, Rutka’s Notebook has drawn comparison to The Diary of Anne Frank. (In an odd coincidence, Rutka Laskier and Anne Frank were born on the same date: June 12, 1929).

Rutka’s world is consumed by the usual teen concerns, like friendships, gossip, a new haircut, and the flickers of first love — all of which she documents in her diary. But the world at large is far from usual. It’s 1943 in war-torn Poland, as Rutka and her friends are trying to live life as normally as possible while confined in the Jewish Ghetto. With their futures and fates uncertain, they reach for hope, resilience, and resistance. This all-new musical is a compelling drama and a shining example of how even one small voice can make a difference in the world. RUTKA is brought to life by an extraordinary ensemble of young performers and with a raw and emotional sound, promising an unforgettable musical experience.

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