Recently I had the pleasure of seeing Arrowhead’s black box theater production of Hiding in the Open, performed with outstanding maturity and gravity necessary to undertake the Holocaust centered play.

Upon stepping into the theater, the audience was immediately transported into German occupied Poland as we walked in a line past authentic Nazi propaganda posters to reach the stage. Since this was a black box production, the audience sat with the actors on stage creating an intimately close atmosphere.

Upon reaching the stage my eyes instantly gravitated towards the large wooden Star of David lying in the center of the stage. Each point of the star detached, which the cast manipulated throughout the play to create the scenery. Also, each point of the star was painted a different color to represent the different groups of people persecuted by the Nazis.

All other props needed were pulled from the star which also doubled as onstage storage. The second star was a wooden outline, which seemingly stretched to the rafters, sat propped along the back of the stage and completed the backdrop of darkness.

Once inside the intense set, the wonderful ensemble of actors entered the stage through the audience. Being a smaller production, the actors, like the set, were constantly changing character while remaining on stage. At the plays start, the Jewish Polish family is forced to move into the Ghetto where the two sisters, Sabina (Ruth Lied) and Helka (Amy Teske), flee into Nazi Germany attempting to wait out the war posing as Catholic Poles looking for work.

The play follows the sister’s attempts to be passed over by the Gestapo as they blend in with other Polish immigrants, keeping quiet and trusting only each other. The sisters finally settle into jobs at an upscale hotel until the war ends. Upon the culmination of the war, Sabina and Helka learn that their father, whom they have been corresponding with, died in the concentration camp just days before liberation. The war ends with an uplifting promise of hope and happiness to the sisters.

Each actor is worthy of mentioning as they all did a wonderfully authentic job of playing the role. The lead, Ruth Lied’s performance was a standout, especially as this was her first time in a production. Also, Shannon Johnson and Matthew Custer, who played the parents of Sabina and Helka, genuinely portrayed the emotional strength needed to authenticate the role.

The costuming was impeccable. From the period clothing to the home made badges for the victims to wear to the hand sewn Nazi arm bands, the entire cast’s costuming seemed legitimate.

The Director, along with the actors and stage crew, put together an amazing show with an authentic atmosphere, a cohesiveness, and a clear focus that was sincerely impressive.