Excerpts of Letters from the Audience
Mustn't this incredible story be told over and over again? And when it is in the brilliant, capable hands of Miri Ben-Shalom, doesn't it cryout to be produced?...
I Want the Whole World to See that I Can Cry is an important contribution to the theatrical landscape. It is essential for this profoundly dramatic eyewitness testimony to be seen and felt by an audience...
--Maurice Sendak, author & Illustrator
For a lot of Indians including us, the Holocaust has been an episode in history that took place in a distant country, in a war that we were not really involved in. "I can cry” changed that for me - for the first time I was terrified by the realization that mankind has not learnt enough of a lesson from this terrible event and will continue to perpetrate such great crimes. It is clear to me that enough has not been said about the Holocaust. Every person should be made so aware of the details of how this happened, that he or she will recognize the first ominous signs of similar misdeeds, be filled with historical disgust and feel propelled to take whatever action that may lie in his or her power.
--Deepak Das
...I learned things I had never heard. It's hard to imagine that those atrocities existed...but unfortunately, they did. I thought the actors were excellent. I loved the way you weaved in the pictures… the visual gave it much more of an impact.......and having her at the end....I just wept. Very moving!
--Margie Morris
Just a note to let you know how blown away I was by the recent staged reading of I Want the Whole World to See that I Can Cry... It needs to be seen, heard and felt by as many people as possible.
--Jamie Pastor Bolnick, writer
Enactment of the Holocaust experience on a stage not more than 20 feet away makes one think of it in the first person. It renewed the feeling that the crimes of man were so tremendous in that war that we must continue to think, talk, watch and read about it, replenish the short memory that we possess and prevent complacency from setting in.
--Kavita Ravi
I have seen movies or television programs but your reading was more powerful. There was an intimate feeling with the live reading which made the event more special. I must applaud your writing and compassion for this project.
--John McLaughlin
As a college student, I have learned about the Holocaust before but never very extensively and other than, “The Story of Ann Frank,” I had never seen a play on the topic. Normally the Holocaust is statistics and facts that as a historical event it becomes mind boggling and unfathomable. I thought, however, that I Can Cry did a wonderful job of personalizing the events so that they became more approachable in their scope. The play personified everyone's struggle in one story, so that while it remained one woman's story it was also emblematic for everyone's suffering both during and after the holocaust… I was brought to tears multiple times... I felt as if the narrators were personally addressing me and sharing their collective story with me.The play does a great job of putting audience members in the same situation as the characters. This is facilitated by their direct address to the audience. It was very emotional... an enormous strength and level of compassion lay behind the words written by Miri Ben-Shalom.
--Pauline Lauterbach
The story you share with us was so moving. I thought about it last night as I sat alone eating a late dinner. i looked at all the food around me and felt the warmth of the room. I blessed i am... I forgot.
It will take sometime to fully absorb the impact of this powerful experience.
--Josh Rothstein
We were extraordinarily moved by your play. I have been thinking about the story ever since. I have read books by Elie Wiesel and Promo Levi, but the specific experience of one person are sometimes the most compelling...
--Alan Klingenstein