The performance is on Sunday, October 5 at 6:00 PM.
Undesirable Secrets, the powerful solo play written and performed by award-winning playwright and performer Rodolfo Alvarado, makes its Chicago premiere at Chicago Solo Show Theatre located inside Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro on Sunday, October 5 at 6:00 PM, presented as part of the celebrated Solo Sunday performance series.
Based on the extraordinary true story of Anthony Acevedo, a Mexican American WWII medic and the first U.S. soldier to register as a Holocaust survivor, Undesirable Secrets reveals a haunting chapter of American history long buried in silence. One of 350 American GIs secretly sent to Berga, a Nazi slave labor camp, Acevedo endured unspeakable horrors. But what truly haunted him was not only what happened in Germany-but what he survived at home, at the hands of his father.
After 63 years of silence-enforced by a U.S. Army gag order-Acevedo finally told his truth. On this night, his story is told again, with raw intensity and theatrical grace.
Texas journalist Ramona Logan wrote, "The set of Undesirable Secrets is simple-three chairs and a table. But the performance is explosive, with a gut-wrenching, moving delivery that tugs at your soul."
Directed by longtime collaborator William Doll, the show features an original pre- and post-show song by Chicago's own Spencer Ball, composed exclusively for this production.
Undesirable Secrets is produced by Scott Whitehair as part of Solo Sunday, an acclaimed monthly showcase for first-person storytelling and solo performance. Known for curating bold and intimate theater, Solo Sunday has become a staple of Chicago's performance scene-celebrating vulnerable, honest work that speaks directly to the human experience.
Rodolfo Alvarado, originally from Lubbock, Texas, is an award-winning writer, poet, and playwright whose work centers on voice, silence, and the transformative power of storytelling. His solo play Undesirable Secrets has received standing ovations across the country-from San Antonio to Detroit-and is supported by the Anthony Acevedo Educational Foundation and the children of Anthony Acevedo, Rebeca Acevedo-Carlin and Ernesto Acevedo, who were instrumental in the play's development.
This performance is a one-night-only event-and one of the final chances to see the show before its official Off-Broadway premiere at Theatre Row in New York City on November 1, 2025.
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