THE LAST CYCLIST Begins Tonight at National Pastime Theater

That was the decision which inmates in the concentration camp at Terezin had to make before agreeing to appear in The Last Cyclist, a bitter satire on their life in the camp as well as on the Nazis who guarded them.

Written by Karel Svenk, the play told of a world where the lunatics were literally running the asylum as a mad dictator (read: Hitler) and his lunatic supporters (read the SS) escape from an asylum and take over the world. They declare that the evils in the world have been caused by bicycle riders (read: Jews) and they proceed to harass, hound, capture, exile and eventually kill all bicycle riders as well as anyone who ever owned a bike or whose grandparents owned a bike.

While the Nazis promoted life in Terezin as a "model" ghetto where the inmates were well treated, in reality it was a prison of minimal and often inedible food, disease, hard labor and eventual deportation to "the East." To keep alive the illusion that the Jews were well treated, the Nazis allowed and even encouraged cultural activities including concerts, recitals, plays and cabarets. However, with The Last Cyclist it was feared that the satire had gone too far and the Jewish Council refused to allow the show to be performed. Luckily, those who saw the rehearsals or the clandestine performances in attics and basements, recorded what they could of the script.

Unlike other plays dealing with the Holocaust, The Last Cyclist used humor and satire to act as a form of resistance to the Nazis. It is unlike any other Holocaust play you may have ever seen.

Through the scholarship of Jewish author and educator Naomi Patz, the script has been reconstructed and will be presented in its Chicago premiere by Genesis Theatrical Productions.

The Last Cyclist will be directed by Elizabeth Margolius and will open on Saturday, August 17 at 7:30pm at the National Pastime Theater in the Preston Bradley Center, 941 W. Lawrence, 4th floor, Chicago. Low priced preview performances will be tonight and tomorrow, August 15 and 16 at 7:30pm.

Performances will be Thursday through Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm to September 1. Tickets are $10 for the previews and $30 for regular performances. Regular priced as well as discounted tickets for students and senior citizens and can be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/388043. For groups of 10 or more contact Elayne@genesistheatricals.com or call 773-800-1703.

The National Pastime Theater is located within the rediscovered historic Preston Bradley Center at 941 W Lawrence Ave. 4th Floor in Chicago. The curious and bold can discover us via the Red Line Lawrence train stop and bus routes 36, 81, 145 and 151 are all within 3 blocks. $5 parking in Weiss hospital parking at 4650 N. Clarendon. Voucher at box office.

The Last Cyclist is produced in association with the National Pastime Theater and is made possible by the generous support of the Dramatists Guild Fund, the Jewish Community Foundation and Robert Klutznick and the Javitch Foundation.

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