We have been working on Hidden since 2019. After learning about the story of Ruth Kapp Hartz, we met Ruth through David’s mother and got her enthusiastic support for writing a musical based on her story as a hidden child in Southern France during World War II. She suggested that we go to France with her, so in August 2019 we met up with her in the small town of Arthès to meet the family of some of her rescuers.

This visit to France was instrumental in the development of the musical. We interviewed members of the Fedou family, including Lucette who was a young adult when Ruth was hiding there. We saw where she lived and visited the Abbey in Sorèze where Ruth was sent, taking many photos and videos. It grounded us in the sense of place and gave us ideas for songs.

We began writing during the pandemic, consulting Ruth frequently. We workshopped our songs at songwriting critique sessions, and took two week-long writing retreats. We had two table readings with actors and received feedback on the show. We also got feedback from several playwrights.

Last winter we completed a video of Ruth telling her story as well as excerpts of our interviews with the family of rescuers. We did a screening of the video we produced, and gave several concerts of songs and scenes from the show with additional musicians. In May 2023 we self-produced a “no frills” staged reading of Hidden at Abington Friends School. We raised $30,000 to cover the costs of a director, two music directors, 10 actors, 3 musicians, publicity and all the other expenses. Through this process we reworked the book and music. The full staged reading in a sold-out 400-seat auditorium was live-streamed and recorded.

Based on the positive reaction and learnings from the staged reading, we decided to continue to develop and improve the script.  We began this process by working with dramaturg Rick Sperling, David’s high school collaborator and David & Jenny’s college friend. Founder of Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, Rick has a long history of working with playwrights to develop original scripts. Rick has helped us with character  development, character voice and looking at the arc of the show. We have professionally recorded some of the songs using actors from our production.

We feel this story is timely and significant. In Ruth Kapp Hartz words “I am very excited about the musical Hidden because I hope that it will provide a new way of increasing the depth and understanding of the experiences of being a hidden child during the Holocaust. David and Jenny have come up with the opportunity to expand my story by expressing the loneliness, the fear, and the loss, as well as the goodness of the Rescuers.” Recent events make it even more imperative that people hear Ruth’s story and that we realize the words “Never Again.”