A one person-play portraying a man's semi-autobiographical quest to discover his mother's role in Nazi atrocities during World War II will finally make its way to an Auburn stage despite a severe snow storm that postponed the show last January.
Norman Lee, the director of student activities at Cayuga Community College, said the play, “Notes to the Motherland,” would be a funny, dramatic portrayal of Paul Rajeckas journey to discover a life altering secret that happened in Lithuania during the war before his family immigrated to Queens in New York City.
“This is a really interesting play to see, and we wanted to make it open to the entire community, which is why it's free,” Lee said. “I have seen several one-man plays, but nothing like this before. It's a one-man play in how it is acted out because he plays all the characters and dresses up for all of them, but he uses voice recordings, too, for other characters. You hear the other voices talking to him, and he responds to them. It's almost like he is just talking out loud.”
Lee said he first saw the play at SUNY Oswego, and decided he wanted to bring Rajeckas story to Auburn. In order to make the show free, the college agreed to provide the funding.
“We really wanted to open the show to anyone of all ages who is interested in the arts,” Lee said. “We were disappointed when the weather prevented us from showing it last winter, but we rescheduled it.”
Even with some of the dark themes associated with war that are portrayed during the show, such as the cost of survival, Lee said the play would be appropriate for all family audiences. And despite some of the more complex issues that are discussed, Leo believed children would still be able to follow along and enjoy the show.
“There is no vulgar language, so it's not like this play would be rated R or PG-13,” Lee said. “It's just a story about how he goes back to his family's former home in the former Soviet bloc during the cold war. He takes a wacky way to portray his experiences there as he explores his Lithuanian roots.”
Throughout the play, Rajeckas' character must deal with evasive family members who do not want to bring up the past while he travels and writes to his cousins who remained in Lithuania, in order to find out what happened.
The play, which has been nominated for several awards, has even appeared as an off Broadway production, and has taken Rajeckas to theaters all across Europe.
“This is a really interesting show just because of the story and how (Rajeckas) tells it,” Lee said. “He wrote the play with help from George Chieffet. He wrote all the music, and he acts out all of the characters. He acts as the mom, dad, grandmother, everyone.”
Nate Robson
253-5311 ext. 248
nathan.robson@lee.net
“This is a really interesting play to see, and we wanted to make it open to the entire community, which is why it's free,” Lee said. “I have seen several one-man plays, but nothing like this before. It's a one-man play in how it is acted out because he plays all the characters and dresses up for all of them, but he uses voice recordings, too, for other characters. You hear the other voices talking to him, and he responds to them. It's almost like he is just talking out loud.”
Lee said he first saw the play at SUNY Oswego, and decided he wanted to bring Rajeckas story to Auburn. In order to make the show free, the college agreed to provide the funding.
“We really wanted to open the show to anyone of all ages who is interested in the arts,” Lee said. “We were disappointed when the weather prevented us from showing it last winter, but we rescheduled it.”
Even with some of the dark themes associated with war that are portrayed during the show, such as the cost of survival, Lee said the play would be appropriate for all family audiences. And despite some of the more complex issues that are discussed, Leo believed children would still be able to follow along and enjoy the show.
“There is no vulgar language, so it's not like this play would be rated R or PG-13,” Lee said. “It's just a story about how he goes back to his family's former home in the former Soviet bloc during the cold war. He takes a wacky way to portray his experiences there as he explores his Lithuanian roots.”
Throughout the play, Rajeckas' character must deal with evasive family members who do not want to bring up the past while he travels and writes to his cousins who remained in Lithuania, in order to find out what happened.
The play, which has been nominated for several awards, has even appeared as an off Broadway production, and has taken Rajeckas to theaters all across Europe.
“This is a really interesting show just because of the story and how (Rajeckas) tells it,” Lee said. “He wrote the play with help from George Chieffet. He wrote all the music, and he acts out all of the characters. He acts as the mom, dad, grandmother, everyone.”
Nate Robson
253-5311 ext. 248
nathan.robson@lee.net
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