The JCA is pleased to present “25044”, a one-act by Russell Kaback, for Yom HaShoah. 25044 is a solo musical story, written and performed by Russell Kaback, based on the life of his grandfather Szyjek Magier, a Polish Jewish teenager who spent four years in the Nazi labor and concentration camps.

Presented in Russell’s theatrical storytelling style that weaves together original songs on guitar, characters, sound effects and gestures, the piece incorporates personal interviews, testimonies, in-depth research and imagination, reminding us that life and hope can endure. The performance debuted in Turner, Maine in March 2023. It will be a featured offering as part of Portland Ovations’ 2024-25 in-school performances season. The show runs 75 minutes and is intended for audiences ages 13 and up.

Russell Kaback (writer, composer, lyricist, performer) is a musician and educator based in South Portland, Maine. He teaches in K-12 classrooms, and writes, produces and performs original music. He received the 2016 Joel and Linda Abromson Award and the 2018 Maine Arts Commission Project Grant in support of bringing his musical story, based on his grandfather’s experience during the Holocaust, into schools in Maine. This work has been performed in various venues in Maine and Massachusetts since 2014, at the PortFringe festival in Portland, and in his grandfather’s hometown of Bendzin, Poland in 2018. In 2022 he began collaboration with master storyteller Antonio Rocha to create the one-man musical storytelling version of the show, titled “25044”. The performance debuted in Turner, Maine in March 2023.

This program is made possible by generous support from the Cantor Kurt L. Messerschmidt Memorial Fund.