Hannah Arendt is a philosopher for our times, and the unlikely title character in a new play “Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library.” Jenny Lyn Bader's gripping play is inspired by the true story of how Arendt, a 26 year-old married Jewish woman at the beginning of her career as a philosopher, was arrested with her mother in Nazi Germany in 1933. Arendt, who’s married name is Stern, is best known for her writings on fascism, totalitarianism, and the nature of power and evil.
"Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library" is now at Luna Stage in West Orange, New Jersey, where the run has been extended through November 17. Bader, who is on the advisory board of the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and the Humanities, talks to producer Susan Wallner about both her play and Arendt's legacy.
