It may be a challenge to find actors who can play all the stringed instruments required. But that's not insurmountable (a soundtrack can be used), and what matters most is Andy Truschinski's ability to create a touching and unpretentious story about family, love, and music surviving the horrors of the concentration camps. The growth in understanding between grandmother Livana and her initially clueless grandson Michael is particularly well-handled, as is the use of just 5-6 actors to play multiple roles. Really a lovely play.

A moving and beautifully done play that shows the power of love and music in the times when we need it most. Excellent.

Premiere Stages, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University, is pleased to recognize “The Opus” by Andy Truschinski as a semifinalist for the 2020 Premiere Play Festival. “The Opus” rose through a competitive selection process conducted by Premiere staff and a panel of outside theatre professionals to become one of 26 semifinalists out of 939 submissions. The panel was particularly impressed by how innovative and powerful this play’s use of music is, especially within the context of how musicians were spared during the Holocaust because of a negotiation with Goebbels. Our congratulations and thanks to Andy.