A CONTROVERSIAL PLEA
In 1946, Ben Hecht wrote a controversial play that publicized a cause he hoped to help: the recognition of a Jewish homeland for Holocaust survivors and resistance to British rule in Palestine.
Set on a Jewish transport ship that is stopped by British forces immediately after World War II, Hecht’s “A Flag Is Born” enjoyed an eight-week run on Broadway — starring Marlon Brando and Paul Muni. It aroused tension and anger in audiences and some denounced it for supporting terrorism. Copies were confiscated by government officials in Canada in response to the play’s anti-British sentiment. Yet somehow, after its Broadway run, it was lost to the archives.
But now, thanks to the American Century Theater, a company dedicated to producing neglected theatrical works, “A Flag Is Born” is back. Under the direction of Steven Mazzol, the play features a cast of 14 and offers a pageant-like use of dialogue, dance and traditional music.
The play “is about a group of people trying to find a place to call home,” Mazzola said. “It is a beautiful play about family, change and compromise.”
Reactions to this production might not rise to the levels of fierce emotions inspired in 1946, but the message remains poignantly relevant.
“It is easy to overlook the situation in Israel — we get acclimated the news reports of violence,” Mazzola said. “A Flag Is Born,” he added, “reminds us of the history of why the violence is continuing.”
“My hope is that it will provoke greater efforts toward peace.”
Gunston Arts Center, 2700 S. Lang St., Arlington; March 25-April 24, Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m., March 28, April 3, 4, 18 and 24, 2:30 p.m.; $23-$26, $18-$20 seniors and students; reservations required. (703-553-8782 or www.americancentury.org)
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
