Letters to Sala
by Arlene Hutton

Letters to Sala draws from the emotional journeys that begin for a mother and daughter when Sala’s letters, written during the Holocaust, resurface.

Through scholarly research, Ann discovers that her mother has made a historically significant impact on Holocaust documentation.

As Ann processes her own reaction to her mother’s story, her daughters, Caroline and Elisabeth, also realize for the first time the weight of their Jewish heritage.

Simultaneously, Ann’s study of the letters throws Sala into the past again.

She relives her youth, recalling her naïve desire for adventure, the disillusionment of her life in the work camps and her loss of communication with the outside world as the war progressed around her.

Playwright Arlene Hutton drives the two stories to a single question: What is to be done with these letters?

If Sala risked her life to hold on to them as a young woman imprisoned in a work camp, are they merely the emotionally rich relics of her past life?

Or are they worthy and important historical documents that demand to be shared with the public?

Three generations of Kirschner women must work together to sift through the past and come to terms with the true gravity of Sala’s letters.