The Wardrobe: A Play in Two Acts

By William Strubbe

Elena, a fugitive Jew from the Warsaw Ghetto, is in search of a safe haven and her lost faith in God and humanity. Jan, a Polish policeman and Elena's lover, arranges for Elena to stay with Magda, a God-fearing Catholic, her husband Stach, their newborn infant, and Magda's brother Stephan. In times of emergency -- a neighbor drops by, Aunt Hello visits for three weeks, the Germans search the apartment -- Elena hides in the wardrobe (which rotates) and speaks to the audience about her life, her fears, her diminished hopes for the future. The two women's relationship grows and deepens as the strain of the occupation, dwindling food supplies, the burning of the Jewish ghetto, and the Warsaw Uprising presses upon the family. Magda becomes less rigid in her beliefs, her husband eventually abandons the family, Stephan is arrested, and Jan disappears into the Polish underground leaving the two women alone with the baby. As the Germans evacuate Warsaw, in an act of supreme love and sacrifice, Magda offers Elena her baby in the hope of keeping the Jewish woman alive. Though their fate is uncertain, Elena returns to the apartment with a restored faith in God and the goodness of humanity.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1481836439
• ISBN13: 9781481836432
• Release Date: January 2013
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 92 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.2" x 6.0"