Magda's Story
by David F. Eliet

Magda's Story Book Cover — Magda's Story Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

90 mins 1990s Ensemble Cast Unit Set/Multiple Settings Period Costumes

Synopsis

In September 1942, a young Catholic Slovak Woman boards a train bound from Bratislava to Budapest.

She is traveling alone in the middle of a war to a city she has never seen, to meet people she does not know, to do something that is forbidden.

She is on a mission to secure a forged baptismal certificate that will hopefully save the life of a man she loves, a Jew.

If she succeeds, she will save his life, if she fails she could bring disaster upon herself and her entire family.

Magda's Story is the remarkable true story of an ordinary person, who when she was presented with the opportunity to do something to save the life of another chose to act when so many others chose to turn away.

The play spans nearly sixty years from Magda’s arrival in Bratislava in 1938, when the city was known as “the little Vienna,” through the turmoils of the war, the communist revolution, the Prague Spring, and the collapse of communism.

It is the story of personal courage, self-sacrifice, imprisonment, exile and finally redemption.

But it is first and foremost a love story.

The love of Magda for two remarkable men, the one whose life she saved, Josef Zachar, and her husband, Jan Fliml.

Press Reviews

"Biographical Magda takes two ordinary heroes of the Holocaust and celebrates them."
— Detroit News

"Magda's Story is a powerful epic play told in a third person docu-drama style wher the story and the times drive characters rather than the other way around...Great theatre, as well as being an important play - one that is sure to live in the memory of all who see it."
— The Monitor

"It's a tale of courage - courage as seductive as it is powerful."
— Detroit Free Press

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Josef Zachar 25, wealthy, a Jewish industralist	—	—	25, wealthy, a Jewish industralist
Jan Fliml early 30s, Director of The Slovak Travel Bureau	—	30s	early 30s, Director of The Slovak Travel Bureau
People On The Train Businessman, Woman 1, Woman 2, Government Man, Soldier, Passengers	female	—	Businessman, Woman 1, Woman 2, Government Man, Soldier, Passengers
People From The War Years Magda's Mother, Girl 1, Girl 2, Waiter, Jewish Youth, 2nd Jewish Youth, First Jewish Mother, 2nd Jewish Mother, Government Man, The Man, Man-In-Bathrobe, The Other Man	female	—	Magda's Mother, Girl 1, Girl 2, Waiter, Jewish Youth, 2nd Jewish Youth, First Jewish Mother, 2nd Jewish Mother, Government Man, The Man, Man-In-Bathrobe, The Other Man
People After The War Friend of Magda's, Voice on Loudspeaker, Government Woman, Cashier, Daniela, Laclo	female	—	Friend of Magda's, Voice on Loudspeaker, Government Woman, Cashier, Daniela, Laclo
Magda Rozgonova 19-year-old Slovak Woman	female	—	19-year-old Slovak Woman