Eleanor’s Story: Life After War
Created by Ingrid Garner | Produced by Ingrid Garner | Origin: Fullerton, California
Arts Court Theatre
Show Details
After surviving WWII caught in Berlin, Eleanor struggles to navigate U.S. high school while haunted by war trauma.
Content Notes
Discussion of suicide, sexual assault, and wartime violence. Wartime sounds (artillery, bombings, sirens, etc).
Showtimes
- Thursday, June 126:00 PM
- Saturday, June 149:00 PM
- Sunday, June 152:30 PM
- Wednesday, June 188:00 PM
- Friday, June 2010:30PM
- Sunday, June 226:00 PM
Ingrid Garner, 16X award-winning creator of ‘Eleanor’s Story: An American Girl In Hitler’s Germany’, delivers a fascinating sequel to her grandmother’s memoir.
★★★★★ “A captivated full-house audience went from tears to breath held in suspense to roaring laughter.” -Edmonton Journal
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder serves as a theatrical device to contrast a plentiful America with Eleanor’s flashbacks of a ravaged Germany. Despite her newfound safety, an innocent sound or word can trigger a terrible recollection. The performance offers a fascinating look at the intricacies of coping with trauma, survivor’s guilt, family separation, and culture shock. While it presents a unique perspective (an American returning home after coming of age in a war zone) Eleanor’s struggle to assimilate into a peaceful society is all too familiar for today’s international refugees. The war may be over, but the battle within has just begun.
*It is not necessary to have seen the original show to enjoy this sequel.
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I really enjoyed this show. It is a fascinating and moving story and the acting was superb. Ingrid played each character in the story and seamlessly moved between them, recreating her Grandmother’s life in Germany and afterwards in an American high-school. I really got the feeling I was right there with her and her family during the war and as a teenager in America. I may have to see it again!