Yellow Stars
Yellow Stars logo
When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth trailer on YouTube
Framco Moschetti interview on A Better World Radio on August 15, 2011play reviewsMeet the Cast
scenes from the playEventsreleases
A scene from When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth
It difficult to find the exact words to express what seeing the play has done to me. Cathartic...powerful, poignant, piercing... The theme, writing and tone pierced a private, emotional place I rarely touch...the story and excellent acting continued to resonate in me for weeks afterward...and I was visibly moved.
~ Rhea Guzik
When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth - A Play on WWII Germany

Franco Moschetti on Better World Radio on August 15, 2011

 

william arntz and franco moschetti and e raymond brown1 Franco Moschetti on Better World Radio on August 15, 2011


Franco Moschetti on A Better World Radio, Aug. 15, 2011  Franco Moschetti on Better World Radio on August 15, 2011 

The second half of A Better World Radio is with Italian-born writer, director & playwright Franco Moschetti who recently staged his latest theater piece off-off Broadway, When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth, a WWII drama in which two heroic women, a female Jewish Resistance fighter and a German cabaret singer, transcend their positions as enemies by sacrificing their lives for one another. The play debuted in Manhattan Repertory Theater’s 2011 summer theater festival to a run of sold out performances and is currently being considered for a larger stage.

Franco is a veteran at organizing theatrical events in Europe and the U.S. In Ghent, Belgium, and New York City, from 2001 to 2005, Franco organized live performances featuring a long list of entertainers from various artistic backgrounds. Franco is currently developing the screenplay of When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth and has also co-written a script for a feature-length film We Were One to Begin, which he will co-direct and start shooting this coming fall. He is currently busy co-writing a book of short stories about Jewish Americans in modern-day New York.

 

Interview with Mitchell Jay Rabin on A Better World Radio
http://www.abetterworld.net/filmmakers-william-arntz-e-raymond-brown-and-playwright-franco-moschetti/  Franco Moschetti on Better World Radio on August 15, 2011 

Play audio archive
audio mp3 button Franco Moschetti on Better World Radio on August 15, 2011 Franco Moschetti on A Better World Radio [ 54:20 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Filed Under: Events

How the Play has been Received

 

franco moschetti photo 300x2252 150x150 How the Play has been ReceivedI once read that it will take no less than 300 years to heal from the event of the Holocaust. That is about 12 generations. It’s been only 66 years.

 I wrote this play with the intent of sharing the tragedy of the Holocaust from a new angle—that of unsung heroes who achieved transcendence by fighting for the lives of others during that dark time. My original intent has been suddenly augmented and transformed by our incredibly successful debut.

 Our audiences’ reactions were outstanding. We sold out every performance and what happened each night when the play was over was beyond my most optimistic expectations.

Many of our audience members were moved to tears and taken so deeply into the story that they had difficulty leaving their seats.

 Many shared with me that they felt the play had the power to heal old wounds.

I never planned for this to be the result of watching When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth, but so many repeated the same phrase separately: Everybody should know!

 Those who voiced their feelings also urged us to please continue to share this play.

 So I will!

 The play has become a mission.

 If you know of a venue where we can perform When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth, please contact me. Help if you think this is your call to spread the “Healing Message.”

 Sincerely

 Franco Moschetti
 whenyellowwerethestars@@gmail.com

Filed Under: Director

MRT Presents WHEN YELLOW WERE THE STARS ON EARTH

 

offoffbww1 150x113 MRT Presents WHEN YELLOW WERE THE STARS ON EARTHThe Manhattan Repertory Theatre presents When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth, a new WWII drama about the Holocaust by Franco Moschetti. The cast of eight includes Gudrun Buhler, Michele Farbman, Franco Moschetti, Johannes Schwäger, Kazy Tauginas, Sergey Nagorny, Matt McAllister, and David Schwartz. When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth will play at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre, 303 West 42nd Street, 3rd Floor, NYC, 10036 for three performances from July 23-28, 2011 (Saturday, July 23 @ 3pm; Sunday, July 24 @ 7pm; and Thursday, July 28 @ 9pm).

One night in Berlin, in 1943, two women, a German cabaret singer and a Jewish Resistance fighter, cross paths in a most unexpected way. As the hours unfold, destiny locks their lives undeniably together until both choose to make the ultimate sacrifice for one another. When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth dares to bring together two rarely written about historical realities: Jewish female fighters and Germans who died refusing to be part of Nazi machinery. Amidst the atrocities of WWII, this heroic pair transcends enemy lines through love for an adversary neither expected to meet.

2252203jpeg201 150x150 MRT Presents WHEN YELLOW WERE THE STARS ON EARTHAbout his play, Franco Moschetti imparts, “The tragedy of the Holocaust is written in indelible ink on our past. For most of my life I have felt very close in my heart to the unimaginable pain caused by the annihilation of 6 million Jews. This event, which has left a deep scar on our history, is profoundly connected to another subject that, to my knowledge, has never been dealt with, and that is the considerable number of Germans who died opposing the horrors of the Nazi machine. They are not remembered as heroes; they’ve just been forgotten, swallowed by time. It is from this knowledge that my play was written. I wrote it out of my personal wish to create an imaginary place in time and space where, for once, a German (Klara) and a Jew (Miriam) could meet, look at each other beyond their ethnic imprint and the tragedies that linked them during WWII, and find in themselves the primal love that is common to all souls.”

When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth is presented by the Manhattan Repertory Theatre Summerfest 2011. Stage Manager: George Acosta; Lighting Designer: Lori Mannette

When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth plays for three performances on the following schedule: Saturday, July 23 @ 3pm; Sunday, July 24 @ 7pm; and Thursday, July 28 @ 9pm.

Italian-born writer and director Franco Moschetti is a veteran at organizing theatrical events in Europe and New York. From 2003 to 2005, he organized over 200 people in elaborately choreographed, theatrical marches down New York City’s Fifth Avenue. One of the more prominent of these marches was a 200-person re-creation of the Money scene from the movie Cabaret, a number that got front-page coverage in the Daily News. In Ghent, Belgium, from 2003 to 2005, Franco organized live performances featuring a long list of entertainers from various artistic backgrounds. In 2010, Franco, who recently graduated from the New York Film Academy, wrote and directed two short films. He is currently putting on stage When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth, a play about female Jewish Resistance fighters and the heroic sacrifices of many Germans in WWII who refused to participate in Nazi machinery. He has also co-written a script for a feature-length movie which will start shooting this coming fall and is currently busy co-writing a book of short stories about Jewish Americans in modern-day New York.

The run time for When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth is 80 minutes with no intermission.

Tickets are $20 and can be reserved by calling 646-329-6588.

Manhattan Repertory Theatre is located at 303 W. 42nd St. (at 8th Ave.) on the Third Floor.

Manhattan Repertory Theatre was founded in August 2005 by Ken Wolf, Artistic Director and Jennifer Pierro, Director of Productions. Since its inception, MRT has produced over 600 plays and worked with over 4000 theatre artists. MRT’s mission is to help all artists get their work produced in a professional, supportive and clean environment.

Read more: http://offoffbroadway.broadwayworld.com/article/MRT-Presents-WHEN-YELLOW-WERE-THE-STARS-ON-EARTH-July-23-28-20110628#ixzz1V2F9Sxj1

From Off Off Broadway
June 28, 2011
http://offoffbroadway.broadwayworld.com/

Filed Under: Releases

Press Release – Manhattan Repertory Theatre

 

yellowstars11 237x3001 Press Release Manhattan Repertory TheatreTHE MANHATTAN REPERTORY THEATRE PRESENTS

WHEN YELLOW WERE THE STARS ON EARTH


A New WWII Drama About The Holocaust by Franco Moschetti

July 23-28, 2011- Three Performances
Saturday, July 23 @ 3pm
Sunday, July 24 @ 7pm
Thursday,
July 28 @ 9pm, Sunday August 7.

Manhattan Repertory Theatre

303 West 42nd Street, Third Floor
New York, NY 10036
www.ManhattanRep.com

Runtime: 80 Minutes – No Intermission
Tickets – $20/for tickets call 646-329-6588

•§•

One night in Berlin, in 1943, two women, a German cabaret singer and a Jewish Resistance fighter, cross paths in a most unexpected way. As the hours unfold, destiny locks their lives undeniably together until both choose to make the ultimate sacrifice for one another. When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth dares to bring together two rarely written about historical realities: Jewish female fighters and Germans who died refusing to be part of Nazi machinery. Amidst the atrocities of WWII, this heroic pair transcends enemy lines through love for an adversary neither expected to meet.

About his play, Franco Moschetti imparts, “The tragedy of the Holocaust is written in indelible ink on our past. For most of my life I have felt very close in my heart to the unimaginable pain caused by the annihilation of 6 million Jews. This event, which has left a deep scar on our history, is profoundly connected to another subject that, to my knowledge, has never been dealt with, and that is the considerable number of Germans who died opposing the horrors of the Nazi machine. They are not remembered as heroes; they’ve just been forgotten, swallowed by time. It is from this knowledge that my play was written. I wrote it out of my personal wish to create an imaginary place in time and space where, for once, a German (Klara) and a Jew (Miriam) could meet, look at each other beyond their ethnic imprint and the tragedies that linked them during WWII, and find in themselves the primal love that is common to all souls.”

The Cast


Director – Franco Moschetti

Gudrun Buhler
- Klara

Michele Farbman
- Miriam

Franco Moschetti- Gunter

Johannes Schwäger
- Wolfgang

Kazy Tauginas
- Fritz

Sergey Nagorny
- Joseph

Matt McAllister
- Man 1

David Schwartz – Man 3

The Crew


Stage Manager: George Acosta

Lighting Designer: Lori Mannette

Publicist: Paul Siebold/Off Off PR

Italian-born writer and director Franco Moschetti is a veteran at organizing theatrical events in Europe and New York.  In Ghent, Belgium, from 2003 to 2005, Franco organized live performances featuring a long list of entertainers from various artistic backgrounds. In 2010, Franco, who recently graduated from the New York Film Academy, wrote and directed two short films. He is currently putting on stage When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth, a play about female Jewish Resistance fighters and the heroic sacrifices of many Germans in WWII who refused to participate in Nazi machinery. He has also co-written a script for a feature-length movie We Were One to Begin, which will start shooting this coming fall and is currently busy co-writing a book of short stories about Jewish Americans in modern-day New York.

Manhattan Repertory Theatre was founded in August 2005 by Ken Wolf, Artistic Director and Jennifer Pierro, Director of Productions. Since its inception, MRT has produced over 600 plays and worked with over 4,000 theatre artists. MRT’s mission is to help all artists get their work produced in a professional, supportive and clean environment.

FOR PRESS AND INDUSTRY COMPS – Contact: Paul Siebold
646-484-9633 • paul@offoffpr.com

Filed Under: Releases

Meet the Players

 

The Cast:

theater masks 150x150 Meet the Players

Günther – FRANCO MOSCHETTI
Klara - GUDRUN BUHLER
Miriam – MICHELE FARBMAN
Wolfgang – JOHANNES SCHWAIGER
Fritz – KAZY TAUGINAS
Man One – MATT MCALLISTER
Joseph – BRISTOL POMEROY
Hans – ALEX TEICHEIRA

 

image0021 Meet the Players


Gunther: Franco Moschetti – writer / director, was born in Italy and has lived in new York City for twelve years. During the past ten years, he has directed theatrical events in both Europe and new York. He is a graduate of New York Film Academy and recently created two short films.
His latest work is “When Yellow were the Stars on Earth.”

 

gudrun buhler Meet the Players


Klara: Gudrun Buhler – opera singer and actress, appeared most recently as “Micaela” in “Carmen” by G. Bizet at the Axelrod Theater. Her acting and singing performance as “Johanna” in “Johanna of Orleans” (Fringe Festival 2010) brought her critical acclaim.


michele farbman1 150x150 Meet the Players
 

Miriam: Michele Farbman – mad her her acting debut with Urban Research Theater, training for three years in movement and song-base theater, while preforming original works throughout New York City. In 2010, she created a one-person piece, “A Question for Antigone,” which was accepted in two theater festivals.

 

johannes schwaiger Meet the Players

 
 
Wolfgang: Johannes Schwaiger- is a German born singer and actor. He loves to perform and has explore many venues in Opera, Musicals and concert on a blogal scale. Amon his credit; Carnegie Hall, Philadelphia Opera, Wagner Society NY and International TV. Johannes is thankful to play the role of Wolfgang and grateful to a wonderful cast.
 

kazy tauginas Meet the Players

 


Fritz: Kazy Tauginas – graduated form the New York Film Academy two years ago Since graduating he has been part of music videos for Aventura and Tres Coronas. He wrote, directed and acted in “Salvation Road,” a short fil about a hit man with a crisis of consience. He landed the lead role in “Terminal Legacy,” which will be released in 2012.

 

matt macallister Meet the Players

 
Man One: Matt McAllister – is a life long New Yorker and an artistic journeyman. Most recently he appeared in An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein and Hunter Gatherers, both at the Baruch Performing Arts Center and the Coat Check Casanovas at The Living Theater. Also in the web series, Corrupting the Classics with Contemporary Crap.

 
birstol pomeroy 150x150 Meet the Players
 
Joseph: BRISTOL POMEROY – Training: Yale School of Drama, UC Berkeley, The Guthrie’s Theater. List of Productions he took part: Even Maybe Tammy, Caviar on Credit, All rights Reserved, The Emperor of Ice Cream, The Current War, Chicano Sketches and many others.
alex teicheira 150x150 Meet the Players
 
 

Hans: Alex Teicheira – S.U.N.Y. at Purchase, BFA in Acting, Purchase NY. List of production : Beltraffio, 8 minute Madness, A Rabbi in the Attic, On a Darkling Plain, Vassa Zheleznova and a number of others.

 

Filed Under: Cast

Letter from writer and director Franco Moschetti

 

letter from the director 150x150 Letter from writer and director Franco MoschettiIt is with great pleasure that I invite you to get to know a play I’ve written.

When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth

The play takes place in Berlin in 1943 and explores two areas of WWII phenomena that are rarely spoken of. To my knowledge, a play that deals with female Jewish Resistance fighters and Germans who oppose the Nazi Regime enough to die for their beliefs has never been written. The story centers on two such characters, both women.

The German woman is a Cabaret singer who, while trapped in a relationship with a brutal SS Captain, sheds secret tears of pain knowing that her fellow countrymen are murdering millions in concentration camps, most of them Jews. The Jewish Resistance fighter risks her life every day to defeat the Nazi machinery responsible for killing so many members of her race, including her parents.

It would have been a rare moment in time for these two women to meet.

I have been immersed in studying Holocaust phenomena for many years and continue to be deeply pained by the killing of 6 million Jews during that dark time. I have collected a large number of documentaries from around the world and all of the books I could get my hands on that report in detail on the long journey of despair that Jewish European citizens endured. It’s no coincidence that my closest friends are Jewish. Although I am Italian and was raised Catholic, my empathy runs so deep that I feel I am a member of the Jewish race. I’ve also thoroughly studied the history of Germany from the beginning of the 20th Century until the 1960s. I and many others have always been startled by how German citizens were completely seduced by Hitler and forced into events created by the Führer and his fellow aids. The question of questions asked so many times before is how could a group of people like the Germans, so refined and evolved, masters in so many fields of art and, above all, lovers of the intimate essence of nature, be drawn into the dark events of WWII?

What many don’t know is that a considerable number of Germans died opposing the horrors of the Nazi machine. They are not remembered as heroes and that is something that pains me.

My play was written out of a personal wish to create an imaginary place in time when, for once, a German (Klara) and a Jew (Miriam) could meet, look at each other beyond their ethnic imprint and the tragedy that linked them during WWII, and find the primal love that is common to all souls.

Klara dies under interrogation in an SS station for not revealing the whereabouts of Miriam, the resistance fighter she sheltered in her apartment for just a few hours. Miriam, in turn, dies while attempting to liberate Klara from the grip of the SS that tortured and killed her. By the end of the play, it is apparent that the good and heroic nature of the German tradition is at its best in Klara, who would rather lose her life than be party to the Nazi regime. This transcendent heroism is equally alive in Miriam, who is ready to love one of her “enemies” and die knowing that to attempt to save her is equal to a suicide verdict.

 •§•

Thank you for giving me the possibility to share the whereabouts of my play with you.



Truly Yours,

Franco Moschetti
 Writer/Director

Filed Under: Director

Adam Rothenberg, NY Theater Critic

 

adam rothenberg new theater 150x150 Adam Rothenberg, NY Theater CriticThere have been several shows written about the Holocaust, but on Saturday, July 23, 2011, I saw one of the most riveting new plays I have seen in a while—When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth, written and directed by Franco Moschetti, which is currently playing at Manhattan Repertory Theatre’s Summer Fest 2011. When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth tells the story of a German cabaret singer and Jewish Resistance fighter who cross paths in the most unexpected way in Berlin 1943, with both women making the ultimate sacrifice for one another.

Franco has written a powerful and emotional play that includes a topic that has not been dealt with in theatre before: the considerable number of Germans who died opposing the horrors of the Nazi machine. Helping to bring this show to life is a terrific cast consisting of Franco himself, Gudrun Buhler, Michele Farbman, Johannes Schwaiger, Kazy Tauginas, Sergey Nagorny, Matt McAllister, David Schwartz, John Whitney, and Igor Kaganskiy. The cast as a whole performs great together, each character necessary to tell this story, but Franco, Gudrun, Kazy, and Michele really do lead the story (as they are the main characters). Gudrun, Michele, and Johannes get to sing during the show and all three have stand-out voices!

This show was performed in an extremely small space and I really commend this cast for performing in such tight quarters. The space did add to the intimacy of the show and the show would still work very well in a larger venue. There were so many intense moments in this show that I couldn’t wait for the next scene.

While some might think, “Why do I need to see another show about the Holocaust?” my answer is simply because it’s a topic that still needs to be talked about and because you haven’t seen Franco Moschetti’s When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth, which gives a different viewpoint about the brave heroes who risked their life to save the Jews.

Adam Rothenberg, NY Theater Critic

Filed Under: Reviews

Ken Wolf, Artistic Director and Founder of Manhattan Repertory Theatre

 

Manhattan Repertory Theatre logo 150x150 Ken Wolf, Artistic Director and Founder of Manhattan Repertory TheatreWhen Yellow Were The Stars On Earth 

is a unique and powerful play. Set in the war torn years of Nazi Germany, the play illustrates the struggles and horrors of that time, melded with a human story of love, compassion and undying humanity. Director and playwright Franco Moschetti makes some bold choices and tells a frightening and inspiring story of people trapped in a world gone awry.  Coupled with a near perfect cast, this play will strike anger in your heart, and then bring you to tears.

I’ve hosted over 600 plays at Manhattan Rep and this play rates in the top 1 percent. This play should go to a larger stage, where it belongs—and that is on Broadway.
When Yellow Were The Stars on Earth is REAL theatre, IMPORTANT theatre, and NOT TO BE MISSED!

 

Ken Wolf, Artistic Director and Founder of Manhattan Repertory Theatre
Filed Under: Reviews

A Better World Radio & TV

 

mitchradio11 A Better World Radio & TVWe went in, sat down, and were suddenly transported to a scene in Nazi Germany wherein an SS officer was having an affair with a German woman, and in the same apartment building was a cell of members of the Jewish Resistance. The play, When Yellow Were the Stars on Earth, explored the relationships between these characters in depth. It was heart-wrenching, and the female lover’s brother at one point returns from the Russian front absolutely frantic and out of his mind with a mixture of profound grief and rage, having borne witness to the murder of a large group of Jewish children who were shot at point-blank range and thrown into a ditch.

franco moschetti photo 150x150 A Better World Radio & TVThe shock of exactly the same kind of story I had just heard from people I personally knew resounded inside me–there was no escaping or marginalizing, nor denying this time; there was just pure pain and sadness at the low ebbs of the human psyche and condition. I sat in the theater tearing as I watched the scene dramatized before me. Franco Moschetti skillfully hit a spot in the human psyche that makes people bleed in their hearts from pain, yet at the same time, a Jewish woman and the SS officer’s German lover well, I don’t want to say more now in case you get the golden opportunity to see it, but just to say, there is the low ebb and the high triumph of the human spirit. We need to remember that both co-exist in the human being and to the extent that we can call upon the higher nature of ourselves, we will be forging a new future and a better world.


Franco Moschetti on A Better World Radio, Aug. 18, 2011

So I visited the theater twice, and had no idea that was in the making. I visited the story of the ditch twice, once as a true story, the next as a fictionalized version though based on a true story, and dramatized, with heart-piercing impact.

So the psyche works, weaving a story within a story. Even though the holocaust happened now some 70 years ago, the heart doesn’t forget and remembering the horror can help us to appreciate the beauty of relative peace, respect for other and the power of compassion.

welcome1 150x150 A Better World Radio & TV

 

 

 from: Mitchell Jay Rabin/ founder of A Better World
August 13, 2011
http://www.abetterworld.net/a-better-world-newsletter-2011-08-14/

Filed Under: Reviews

Brian Kazmarck, Film Director

 

brian kazmarck 150x150 Brian Kazmarck, Film DirectorI want to commend your cast (and crew) on a fantastic play. Your story is both tragic and inspiring, and I was glued to my seat, which is pretty rare for me, especially when it comes to theatre. This story was something I could imagine easily translating to the screen. Regardless of what you’re plans are for a film version, your play was fantastic from top to bottom! Loved it!

Brian Kazmarck, Film Director

Filed Under: Reviews