South Jersey Theater Celebrates 20th Anniversary Of Holocaust Education Program, Announces Gala

In 2019, the Number the Stars Community Education Program at Haddonfield Plays & Players will celebrate its 20th anniversary of promoting youth awareness and education about the Holocaust through the power of the performing arts.

As Holocaust Remembrance Day approaches on January 27th, HP&P is pleased to announce that the Number the Stars 20th Anniversary Gala will take place April 6, 2019 at the Betty & Milton Katz JCC, featuring a performance of the show with alumni cast members.

Although Lois Lowry's Newbery Medal-winning novel, Number The Stars is a work of historical fiction, it presents many very important truths about the Holocaust in a way that is accessible to young audience members. Now more than ever, it is vital that we bear witness to the atrocities committed during The Holocaust and tell the stories of the survivors to future generations.

Quick Facts

• Number the Stars Community Education Program founded in 1999 at Haddonfield Plays & Players by Kim Adler. The musical's creator, Sean Hartley, was in attendance at the original production.
• Approximately 20,000 students have participated in the Number the Stars program at HP&P since 1999.
• 15 survivor participants shared their stories through the years.
• Twelve-year-old Zoey Blackman is helping with the April 6th Gala as part of her bat mitzvah project.
• 11% of adults and 22% of millennials (defined as those between 18 and 34), haven't heard of or aren't sure if they've heard of the Holocaust.*
• 31% of adults, and 41% of millennials, believe 2 million or fewer Jews were killed in the Holocaust.*
• 15% of adults think people should be allowed to use Nazi symbols or slogans, and 11% of adults think it's acceptable to hold Neo-Nazi views.*

*Denotes stats from a 2018 study by the Claims Conference and a 2014 global study of Americans from the Anti-Defamation League.

About Haddonfield Plays & Players

Haddonfield Plays & Players is a gathering of dedicated individuals who come together to provide quality theater at an affordable price to a wide range of Delaware Valley audiences, as well as to provide a creative outlet for non-professionals, all in an atmosphere of personal and social enrichment that is open to all persons with a commitment to non-profit theater. Haddonfield Plays and Players is located at 957 East Atlantic Ave., Haddonfield, NJ, 08033.