| Summary: | Kraus, Joanna H. with Janet E. Rubin, ed. Women of Courage: Five Plays by Joanna H. Kraus. Dramatic Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-87129-942-9. 342 pp. A 3-8 Reviewed by Shelley Graham Each of the plays in this collection are preceded by a section entitled The Playwright Speaks, in which Kraus describes the play’s history and significance. After each play there is a section entitled Classroom Concepts, in which Rubin offers suggestions for use of the play in the classroom. The ideas apply not only to drama classes, but also to history, English, geography, and other classes as well. Two of the plays, Remember My Name and Angel in the Night, deal with the Holocaust and World War II. Sunday Gold is a play that deals with the gold rush in North Carolina in the 1840s and the issues of slavery and friendship. Mean to be Free is the story of two slave children following Harriet Tubman on the Underground Railroad to freedom. The first play in the book, The Ice Wolf, offers students an opportunity to discover the culture of the Eskimos and some of their myths. The plays themselves are exceptional, and in conjunction with the ideas that Rubin presents, they have the potential to be more than just artistic experiences. They may encourage research among the students and a deeper understanding of other cultures and periods of history. The plays are easily applicable to students from third grade to eighth grade, and all five shows run about an hour each. A review of each play follows: Kraus, Joanna H. Angel in the Night. A 3-8 Many courageous people during the Holocaust risked their liberty and their lives to help the persecuted Jews escape the torture that awaited them if Nazi soldiers found them. Marsia Pawlina Szul was one such person. She is honored now in the Avenue of the Righteous Parks found outside Jerusalem and in Evanston, Illinois. This play is the story of her courage in harboring a mother, her newborn boy, young daughter, and another young Jewish girl. Pawlina led the Nazi soldiers away from the family, hiding in a homemade bunker in their barn. When she was discovered, she suffered unspeakable torture by the Nazis, yet she remained silent. This play is inspiring, even more so because it is based on the real actions of one brave young Polish woman. The characters are loveable we suffer with them throughout the play and we are grateful to learn of the love, respect, and adoration the Jewish characters feel for Pawlina, their savior during World War II. Every child should learn stories such as these, which reaffirm our faith in humankind in the midst of some of the worst examples of man’s inhumanity to man. The play deals with these concerns in a delicate but touching manner, and all who see it will be grateful for women like Pawlina Szul, an angel in the night. The first and last scenes require the main characters to be approximately forty years older than they were during the war, but double casting is possible. Running time is approximately one hour. . ix, 342 p. 23 cm. Children's Book and Play Review, November / December 2000
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