PLAY: "When Blood Ran Red"

The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene will present When Blood Ran Red, a historical drama inspired by true events. The performance is part of the company’s season of “Spiritual Resistance,” which features artistic and theatrical works that explore themes of struggle against oppression.

When Blood Ran Red gives an account of the friendships between African-American actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson and leading Soviet Jews after World War II, during the brutal reign of Josef Stalin. The driving point of the action deals with the removal of the Russian Yiddish theatre and purge of Yiddish and Jewish culture and life in the Stalin era. 

Following a chain of events set off with the assassination of Solomon Mikhoels, the head of the Moscow State Jewish Theater and Chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, the play follows Robeson as he journeys to Russia, deemed an enemy of the state by the McCarthy-era “House Committee on Un-American Activities.” Having befriended leaders of the Soviet Jewish Movement, Robeson finds himself at the center of a genocidal KGB conspiracy. The story weaves together a tale of suspense, mystery and intrigue—where truth is relative, loyalties are questioned at every turn, and justice is only achieved by paying the ultimate sacrifice. 

Written in 2015, the play won NYTF’s inaugural David and Clare Rosen Memorial Play-Writing Contest. It will be directed by director and producer Kenneth Ferrone. It will be performed entirely in English. 

It will be performed on Sunday, June 16, at 2 and 6 p.m. at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl. Tickets are $25, available at www.nytf.org [1] .