The Match
Book, music, and lyrics by Toby Singer
Rudolf Kastner sips espresso in a Tel Aviv cafe trying to distract himself from being accused of collaborating with the Nazis during World War II. But when a mysterious young woman shows up, on a mission that only she knows, Rudolf is forced to brutally engage with the impossible decisions of his past. In this work of historical fiction, The Match tells the story of Jewish poet Hannah Senesh and Rudolf Kastner, and how their lives intersected in the pursuit of justice.
Development History: Several readings and concert presentations, including in 2023 at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in NYC, a 2020 workshop at ART-NY, and several informal workthroughs in Brooklyn and Austin from 2019 to 2023.
Author’s note: For years I wanted to write a musical about the life of Jewish folk hero Hannah Senesh, someone whose heroic deeds, poetry, and martyrdom at the hands of her countrymen had inspired me since I was a kid.
However, what finally drove me to write a draft of The Match in the fall of 2017 was watching with horror as neo-Nazis openly marched in Charlottesville. Of course, antisemitism is never far from the surface. Just this past Spring, it re-emerged rather publicly with the protests outside the Broadway premiere of Parade. There are plenty of other examples of course.
The Match is historical fiction. Hannah and Rudolf are very much real people, and I’ve tried to closely reflect their biographies in this story. Malka and Reuven, while fictional characters, are based on the experiences that countless Moroccan Jews had in the 1950s.
At its core, The Match is a call to action to fight back against encroaching hatred of all kinds with whatever tools you have. I wrote it as a call to action for myself, when I didn’t know what to do. I looked around at a world quickly spinning out of control, and used what was within my own power. May each of us find that power within ourselves to resist.