Gratz College in Elkins Park premiered their new musical, “Hidden” last weekend, writes Peter Crimmins for WHYY. The musical is based on the real life experience of Holocaust survivor and Jenkintown local Ruth Kapp Hartz.
As a child, Hartz spent three years on the run with her Jewish family from the Nazis in France. Her mother eventually left her at a French convent. The nuns harbored her there, claiming she was Catholic.
In 1999, she published a memoir, “Your Name is Ruth,” documenting her traumatic childhood. When composers Jenny and David Heitler-Klevans found the memoir, they contacted Hartz about a possible musical.
“I read the book and suddenly I was picturing things as a musical,” Jenny said.
Hartz agreed, but first invited them to travel with her to France to visit places from her past. Abroad, the composers saw the Convent that kept Hartz. They also met a woman who, as a teenager, helped Hartz hide from the Nazis.
It was then that the composers decided that the musical should be more about the first hand accounts of Hartz and those who helped her, than strictly following the memoir.
“This story is not Anne Frank. It’s not death camps. It’s really a story of hope, allies and rescuers,” said David.
“Hidden” plays at Gratz College now through September 22.
Read more about the musical and Ruth Kapp Hartz’s amazing Holocast story at WHYY.
