TWO PIANOS: Playing for Life
A Production of Papers Please Inc.
A narrated multimedia concert series about human perseverance under oppression,
with companion exhibit and print materials
EXHIBIT COMPONENTS: Artifacts, Story Panels, Videos
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The Two Pianos Exhibit was designed by Stephanie Reyer, with panel and case texts by the Levins.
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The Two Pianos Exhibit documents the musical journeys of Anna and Halina before, under and after Nazi Germany. It displays sheet music, concert programs, reviews, photos and other mementos from Levin/Hoffman family collections, including items from Anna and Halina's student days at the Leipzig Conservatory (1920s), Kulturbund performances (mid-1930s), and divergent paths to their ultimate reunion and careers in the U.S.
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In 2015 the Levins loaned artifacts inherited from Anna to a curated exhibit on "Jewish Life in Leipzig until 1933" sponsored by the Leo Baeck Institute-NY at the German State Library in Leipzig (28 June-30 Sept. 2015). Marquee items below were Anna's Nazi-era national and local Kulturbund photo-ID cards. Other exhibit items included a signed 1928 "performance" photo and Anna's 1929 Leipzig Conservatory diploma.
The Levins attended the Leipzig opening -- one step in their dream of reprising the Anna-Halina Kulturbund concerts.
9 June 2018 Exhibit Display
Philadelphia Premiere
DISPLAY CASE CONTENTS
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Case 1. Anna's National Kulturbund Membership and Leipzig Kulturbund Ticket Cards
Case 2. Anna/Hirsch Leipzig Years
Case 3. Anna/Hirsch post 1936
Case 4. Halina pre and post Holocaust photos, travel/identity documents, career memorabilia
Case 2:
Anna: Romanian Passport, Leipzig driver's license and miniature language dictionaries
Case 3A:
Halina: post-War identity & travel documents
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Halina (under false Wartime name)
Concert poster, Warsaw c. 1946
EXHIBIT PANELS provide timelines and historical background for Anna and Halina's journeys. Case labels match the Panels' color-coded Banners. The 10 retractable 84"x36" free-standing mylar Panel screens (4 two-sided) come in their own zippered carry bags. Exhibit cases are provided by hosts and will vary. Hosts may select Panels with or without case contents, or (if space is limited) may use the Brochure in lieu of the Panels.
The first Panel sets the 1933 scene with creation of the Kulturbund and introductions of Two Pianos main characters. Viewers then move from Leipzig's pre-1933 glamor ("Leipzig's Allure") with a flashback to musical Weimar student years ("Keeping Time"), follow Anna's 1936 departure to safety ("Just in Time"), and proceed to Halina's expulsion and perilous journey through darkness ("Out of Time"). A final panel summarizes the Kulturbund's end, its legacy, and the characters' long friendship ("Legacies").