Roots in the Resistance

Dr. Douglas Larche’s Newbery Award-winning play, “Number the Stars” will get a sparkling theatrical makeover by the Laguna Playhouse Youth Theatre, which is sure to warm hearts.

The story, originally told by author Lois Lowry in book form, takes place in Eastern Europe during World War II, and follows members of the Danish Resistance and a Jewish family’s struggle for survival during the Nazi invasion.

For Kenzie McMillan, 16, who plays a member of the Resistance, the play has been an opportunity for her to learn about her own roots.

“My great-grandfather was a Resistance member, which is something I didn’t even know until I [assumed] this role,” Kenzie said. “It was just something my family didn’t talk about until I was in the play.

“I’ll be portraying the role of my grandmother, Ada Averby, who I’ve talked to about my great-grandfather’s experience, so I can play the part the way he actually lived.”

The production is part of the new “Theatre for a New Generation” series, and will run Tuesday through Thursday at the Laguna Playhouse.

“It’s a story of bravery, resistance and friendship,” director Donna Inglima said. “It depicts the work of the Danish Resistance in 1943 and how the people of Denmark saved most of their fellow Jewish countrymen from extermination by hiding them in fishing boats and taking them to Sweden.

“We’ve taken the [original production] and added visual, cinematic moments that lend more back-story to the play.”

Inglima said the series, which has examined topics like racism, teen pregnancy, sexuality and alcoholism in the past, will explore the Holocaust for the first time next week. The plot focuses on the friendship between two young girls “” Annemarie Johansen and Ellen Rosen “” the humanitarian underground of the war, and how the youth of that time had to come to terms with the brutal reality that enveloped them.

Ashley Nelson, 16, who will play the role of Ellen, said she fell in love with the book, which she read multiple times as a child and is thrilled to play such a large part in the production.

“It’s a relatable story, and it’s so moving to see the power of this love that exists between these friends,” she said.

Annemarie’s character, Jodie Naglie, 16, who is of Jewish heritage, said she too read the book long ago and thinks it a wonderful story.

“I like that it tells more about the Danish Resistance and people helping each other,” she said. “I also like how Annemarie’s ‘coming of age’ moment is revealed as she is forced to fight with the Resistance, in the midst of something she didn’t know much about until that moment.

“That was pretty true of most children during the Holocaust.”

Kenzie also said she admires this Holocaust story because the focus isn’t so much on Hitler “” as in most WWII stories “” but on the “good” that occurred among people during this time.

“The idea of people helping people wasn’t every exposed, and this play does that.”

IF YOU GO

WHO: Laguna Playhouse Youth Theatre

WHAT: “Number the Stars”

WHERE: Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday

TICKETS: $12.50

CONTACT: Box office, (949) 497-2789 or online at www.lagunaplayhouse.com