Hello, Matthew!
Thanks for reaching out and thanks for producing Letters to Sala. FYI, a documentary called Sala, about Sala Garncarz and the letters, is being released next month in honor of the 20th anniversary of the donation of the letters to the New York Public Library, with a premiere at the NYPL in late March. Please note that Sala's daughter Ann Kirschner and I make ourselves available, schedules permitting, to zoom with students. We're also available to answer any other questions you might have that aren't on the website of resources. (Note to self, put script changes on the website!)
To answer your questions:
1) I'm hoping Concord, which now owns Dramatists Play Service, will update the script for me and publish the shorter version, too. (Note to self to pursure this.)
2) I do not have a list of changes, but other than the epilogue, the main revision concerns the two birthday scenes in the DPS/Concord edition.
3) In the updated manuscript the first scene in the Schatzlar labor camp, right after a letter from Harry, combines elements of the two birthday scenes. It starts with "Hallo! Hallo! Occupants of Camp Number Twenty! Did you hear today's announcement? Salusia Garncarz is having her 20th birthday..."
Where the second birthday scene was before is where the new Sabbath scene comes, right after Ann says "You can't say no anymore. This changes everything. It's all documented. There were four women hanged at Auschwitz. For conspiracy. Ala was one of them. Ala was hanged at Auschwitz." Then the new Sabbath scene begins. I've attached it below. It's a very moving scene, where the young women use candles they have created by drawing them on paper and cutting them out.
Hopefully this will be a good experience for your students, seeing how scripts evolve. Arthur Miller was still making line changes to A View From the Bridge for the Broadway revival in the 1980s, some thirty years after the original premiere.
Wishing you all the best with your production of Letters to Sala! Please send photos.
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Arlene Hutton, playwright
Letters to Sala
Three Sisters Brontë
I Dream Before I Take the Stand
Kissed the Girls & Made Them Cry
As It Is In Heaven
Susie Sits Shiva (EdTA commission)
According to the Chorus
faculty, The Barrow Group, NYC
arlene@barrowgroup.org------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 02-18-2026 12:56
From: Matthew Fossum
Subject: Letters to Sala
Hi!
I am directing Letters to Sala at the high school where I teach and direct. We are looking forward to producing the play, and have already purchased rights and acting edition scripts from Concord (they were out of stock of the Stage Manager editions when we purchased the rights). However, the changes reflected in the updated version that you attached above (thank you, by the way!) are not reflected in the scripts we purchased from Concord. So, a couple of questions:
1) Do you know if Concord will ever update their versions of the script to reflect what you have attached above?
2) Do you, by chance, have a "list" of the changes? So far, I've noticed a change concerning Rozia/Glika, an updated Epilogue, and some rearranging of scenes in Act 2, but I'm worried I'm going to miss some of the changes.
3) By extension, I'm worried about how to navigate these changes with our actors, since they will be using the "old" scripts from Concord. Is it your wish/intent that productions of Letters to Sala be done with your revisions as attached above? Do you have any advice for how to navigate between the Concord version and your updated version?
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration! We can't wait to stage this beautiful show/story.
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Matthew Fossum
Original Message:
Sent: 06-23-2024 06:54
From: Arlene Hutton
Subject: Letters to Sala
Hello, Alison --
Thanks for considering LETTERS TO SALA. I've attached an updated version for your perusal, which has a few changes from the printed DPS script. I can also send you a 45/50-minute version. There are resources available online at letterstosala.com
Staging is flexible -- I first directed it with two tables, six chairs and a bench -- and while there are over two dozen speaking roles, mostly women, the play has been performed, with doubling, with as few as six or eight actors and also with as many as 35, creating crowd scenes at the railroad station and in the camps. This story seems more relevant than ever; most recently scenes were presented at the JCC in Manhattan for an event honoring women of the Holocaust and folks commented on the play's message of hope.
Sala's story has been produced at nearly 200 high schools and colleges around the country since it was published ten years ago and her letters are archived and with advance notice can be viewed in the Dorot Jewish division of the New York Library on Fifth Avenue. Sala's daughter, Ann Kirschner, who is currently the interim president of Hunter College, is available, schedule permitting, to meet with student casts, and we frequently do that together.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or any difficulty with permissions through Dramatists Play Service at Broadway Licensing.
All the best,
------------------------------
Arlene Hutton, playwright
Letters to Sala
I Dream Before I Take the Stand
Kissed the Girls & Made Them Cry
As It Is In Heaven
Susie Sits Shiva (EdTA commission)
According to the Chorus
faculty, The Barrow Group, NYC
arlene@barrowgroup.org
Original Message:
Sent: 06-21-2024 16:42
From: Alison Clemens
Subject: Letters to Sala
Hi,
I am considering Letters to Sala for my high school kids. I read an excert but I would like to read the whole play does anyone have a copy I can borrow. Digital is fine. I promise I will not perform it without proper rights, I just would rather not pay just to read it.
Thanks
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Alison Clemens
Auditorium Manager
Flushing High School
MI
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