A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Murder of Lidice

Short Play, Drama  /  4w, 2m

Lois O. Meyer, Edna St. Vincent Millay

Adapted and arranged as a Reader’s Theatre Script by Lois O. Meyer.

The events which caused Edna St. Vincent Millay to write "The Murder of Lidice" are some of the most horrifying in the chronicles of Nazi terror in World War II.

The Murder of Lidice

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    60 minutes (1 hour)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptations (Literature), Period, Docudrama/Historic
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
This powerful and deeply moving dramatic poem is as contemporary today as it was in 1942 when Edna St. Vincent Millay was commissioned by the Writers’ War Board to write a poem immortalizing the village of Lidice, Czechoslovakia. This verse-narrative, arranged as a Reader’s Theatre Script, very eloquently voices the protest and horror of all peoples of the world at the wanton destruction of the small village during World War II by the Nazis who claimed that the citizens of Lidice were harboring the assassin of Reinhard Heydrich, a Nazi henchman. Opening on the peacefulness of the village and daily activities of a peasant family, the action soon draws us into its suspense and mounting tension as Nazi soldiers enter Lidice, destroy every structure, kill every man, drive the women into “concentration camps,” and herd the children into “educational institutions.” Written in a white heat of outrage and fury after news of the cold-blooded mass murder, Miss Millay’s poem
has become one of the great literary classics opposing all war atrocities.
History
This adaptation of The Murder of Lidice was first presented at Palm Beach Junior College, Lake Worth, Florida, on April 2, 1970 under the direction of Lois O. Meyer. 
*WOMAN NO. 1 - Narrator, The Son, Jan (Yahn)
*WOMAN NO. 2 - Narrator
WOMAN NO. 3 - Narrator, The Mother
WOMAN NO. 4 - Narrator, The Daughter, Byeta (Bee-ya-ta)
MAN NO. 1 - Narrator, The Young Man, Karel (Kare-el)
MAN NO. 2 - Narrator, The Father, The Nazi Soldier

Each of the characters has one principal role and possibly one or more minor roles. All of the characters serve as storytellers to help move the action along. 

*These parts may also be played by men. 

A guitarist is optional. 

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day, 1940s / WWII
  • Setting The action takes place today and in the Spring of 1942, in Lidice (Lid-i-che), Czechoslovakia. 
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Additional Features No intermission
  • Duration 60 minutes (1 hour)
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
  • Chorus Size N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $65 per performance

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Authors

Author

Lois O. Meyer

Author

Edna St. Vincent Millay

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