Huebener • The Classic Play

Huebener • The Classic Play

by Thomas F. Rogers

(For production by Professional Groups, College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, LDS & Other Church Groups, Youth Theatres)

During World War II, while aware of the risk to his life, the fearless young German Latter-day Saint Helmuth Huebener persisted in launching a campaign against Hitler’s propaganda machine. In this play we witness the tragic story of Mormonism’s arguably greatest twentieth-century martyr.

The English translation is not the only version we license. We have translations in Finnish, Russian and German. (see below)


PLAY DETAILS:

  • About 2 hours
  • 10M 2W plus ensemble of small roles (Doubling possible and recommended)
    • Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, a youth, 18 years old (no doubling)
    • Woman
    • Man
    • 1st and 2nd Officers
    • Hugo Huebener, Helmuth’s father (no doubling)
    • Emma Huebener, Helmuth’s mother (no doubling)
    • Gerhard Kunkel, Helmuth’s half brother, Emma’s son (no doubling)
    • Johannes Sudrow, Helmuth’s maternal grandfather (no doubling)
    • Anneliese Sudrow, Helmuth’s maternal grandmother (no doubling)
    • Helmuth Huebener, a youth, 17 years old (no doubling)
    • Rudi Wobbe, a youth, 16 years old (no doubling)
    • Arnold Zoellner, president of the Hamburg-St. Georg LDS Branch, middle aged (no doubling)
    • Voice
    • Churchill’s Voice
    • Jonni Duewer, a youth, 17 years old
    • Wife and Husband
    • 1st and 2nd Clerks
    • General and Aide
    • 1st and 2nd Hausfraus
    • 1st and 2nd Soldiers
    • Voices
    • Werner Kranz, a youth
    • Second Counselor, to Zoellner
    • Sandmann, first counselor to Zoellner
    • Officer
    • 1st and 2nd Officers
    • Guard
    • Chief, 2nd, and 3rd Justices
    • Defense Counselor
    • Prosecutor
    • 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Voices
    • Voice
  • Unit Set
  • Order # 2010

Available for ALL producing groups.


REVIEWS

“If one is allowed only a few peak experiences in life, one for me was watching the text emerge of Thomas Rogers’ play Huebener. The work is a product of our local culture which has universal meaning. It invites all to consider models in addition to the pioneer legacy, to apply our thinking to contemporary issues, in this case the competing loyalty between freedom and obedience.” — Douglas D. Alder — President, Dixie College.

“Huebener has to be the most brilliant piece of theatre from a Utah author to date — a haunting, moving, powerful drama of ethics.” — Mary Dickson, Salt Lake Tribune.

“Tugs at our heartstrings and reminds us of the complexities of the life we live.” — Dallin H. Oaks

“Watching High School students perform such a challenging play, with such heart, commitment and conviction, in the small, intimate setting at Pine View, had most audience members on the edge of their seat and many moved to tears by the end of the show. After the play had ended, a young boy in the audience turned to his mom and said: “I wish I was someone important like that and made a difference.” Nearly each student echoed the same sentiment of how much the experience had changed their life and how thankful they were to be a part of it. “This is the best experience of my life,” one of the students said. “Saying that any of this is an honor just truly doesn’t do it justice,” Ani Rogers said about the experience as a whole. “When I look back on this moment, this will forever be the biggest feather in my cap.”” — Kimberly Scott, St. George News

FULL REVIEW by B. Kent Harrison of The Collected Plays of Thomas F Rogers: Book 3: Crises In Faith published in the Square Two Journal LINKED HERE

“…The plays discussed here show the value of the stage, as Brigham Young noted, in helping us understand ourselves and others. In each of the three plays the thesis is amply borne out. I hope Rogers’ plays will see a new generation of appreciation, and am grateful these volumes were compiled for that purpose…”


PERUSAL MATERIALS

  • The PERUSAL PAGES file for Huebener is available by clicking HuebenerPERUSALPAGES The PDF file is the first act of the play and all other pertinent information about the play.
  • Or you can read the entire play in the Anthology: Saints On Stage (Available from Zarahemla Books)
  • This and other plays by Thomas F. Rogers may be read in the new publication: The Plays of Thomas F. Rogers Volume 3 : Crises In Faith (the SEVEN plays included are:  Fire In The Bones, First Trump, Reunion, Set Apart, The Anointed (a musical theatre play), and Petunia Passes (a short play). You can purchase the seven play volume, Crises In Faith for $16.00 (saving $3.99 off the list price) and getting to read all seven of Tom Rogers’ plays about the Latter-day Saints. A great way for inexpensive perusing!
  • Volume 1: Perestroika and Glasnost, & Volume 2: Personal Journeys, are also available at Leicester Bay Theatricals

REHEARSAL MATERIALS AVAILABLE:

  • Script in PDF format — Order #2010a : $25.00 (from which you will be authorized to copy for your production)



  • First Performance Ward/Stake/Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #2010d : $75



  • Second Performance Ward/Stake/Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #2010e : $65



  • Professional Performance License can be granted by filling out the Performance License Application: No production rights can be granted until this application is filled out and sent to us. This is a filler form that after you click “SUBMIT” will send directly to our email address. Response averages 2-3 business days.

TRANSLATIONS INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Huebener is available in the following languages: (contact us for details)


A PHOTO OF the real-life Rudi Wobbe, Helmuth Huebener, Karl Schnibbe in Hamburg, Germany

RudiWobbe • Helmuth Hübener • Karl Schnibbe

PRODUCTIONS:

  • Utah State University Eastern, Price, Utah — February 2022
  • Pine View High School — 2014 Photo from the upcoming production (Feb19-22, 2014 || EXTENDED IN IT’S SOLD-OUT RUN — TWO PERFORMANCES ADDED!) HuebenerPHOTOPVHS

  • Reno Little Theatre — October 2013
  • Helsinki Finland LDS Stake — November 2013 (In Finnish)
The young men portrayed on the Finnish poster:
Timo Räisänen who played Rudi Wobbe,
Teemu Veito who played Helmuth Hübener and
Jerry Tikkanen who played Karl-Heinz Schnibbe.
  • BYU Idaho — 2006
  • Dixie State College — 2004
  • Bountiful Davis Arts Center — 2003
  • Donetsk Ukraine — 1997 (In Russian)
  • St. Petersburg Russia Stake — 1995 (In Russian)
  • Ann Arbor LDS Stake — 1993
  • Brigham Young University — 1991
  • Premiere Production at Brigham Young University — 1976
  • The proposed poster for an upcoming production of the play by Zion Theatre Company


 PHOTO SLIDE SHOW from the Pine View High School Production

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ABOUT HUEBENER

  • Click on the following Players by TFR for a monograph about the play by the author, Thomas F. Rogers

This title is available exclusively from