TheaterWorks Hartford, under the direction of Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero and Managing Director Jeff Griffin, presents DEDICATION, a new one-man show written and performed by pianist Roger Peltzman. The show will run at TheaterWorks Hartford for three performances from April 30 – May 2, 2026.
Directed by Jessi D. Hill, Dedication combines monologues, images, live piano performance, and humor to tell the story of Roger Peltzman’s family before the war and his mother’s harrowing escape from the Nazi’s who raided the attic in which she and her family were hiding. It uses drama, humor, and powerful images and musical performance of everything from blues to Chopin. As the story unfolds, family photos, letters, and documents that survived the war are projected on stage.
Dedication features lighting design by Kate Ashton, sound design by Jane Shaw (Men In Boats), projection design by Jason Thompson and Kaitlyn Pietras of PXT Studios (Grounded), and is generally managed by Four Time Tony award winning producer Jessica R. Jenen.
“As Jewish people, the Holocaust affects us in unique ways, and the best way that I could come to terms with my family’s story was through music and performance,” said Roger Peltzman. “With the proliferation of anti-semitism, it is more important than ever to present authentic and engaging accounts of the Shoah. Dedication is my family’s story, but in many ways, it is all of our stories – especially in these trying times.”
“It’s a tremendous honor to work with TheaterWorks Hartford in their presentations of Roger Peltzman’s Dedication and we look forward to launching a residency in another NYC venue next season.” said Jessica R. Jenen.
Performances are Thursday April 30th – Friday May 1, 2026 at 7:30pm, and Saturday, April 2 at 2:30pm. All tickets can be purchased at twhartford.org or by calling the box office at 860.527.7838.
About the Artists:
Roger Peltzman is a pianist, actor, and playwright based in New York City. In August 2022 his one-person play Dedication made its premier at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – garnering 4 star reviews from critics and overwhelming response from audience members. The play recounts Roger’s family’s tragic story of fleeing the Nazis in war-torn Europe using drama, humor, powerful images and musical performances of everything from blues to Chopin. Drawn into the lives of people he never knew, Peltzman develops a “relationship” with his uncle, Norbert Stern, a brilliant pianist who was murdered in Auschwitz at age 21. In 2023 Dedication had a month-long run in London. The show was nominated for an Off West End Theatre award for best performance piece. It has also been presented in Brussels and Berlin and various cities in the US. More recently, Dedication was performed for world dignitaries at United Nations headquarters. A rare honor for a theater piece. Dedication made its public New York City debut to a sold out house at The Museum of Jewish Heritage.
Roger Peltzman will be performing at well-known regional US theaters in the coming months and is heading back to Europe in May with shows in Amsterdam, Budapest and Hamburg. Dedication is in the planning stages for a six week off-broadway run in late 2027. For more information, please visit his website.
Jessi D. Hill (She/Her) is a director based in NYC. Off-Broadway: Robert Montano’s Small (2024 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations), Matthew Freeman’s The Ask (2025 Drama Desk Award nomination), Chisa Hutchinson’s Surely Goodness and Mercy, and Larissa FastHorse’s Vanishing Point. Credits include new work at New York Theatre Workshop, The Public, Primary Stages, Labyrinth, Women’s Project, 59E59, P73, Clubbed Thumb, La Mama, Rattlestick, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playwrights Realm, New Georges. Regional: Old Globe, George St. Playhouse, Denver Center, A.R.T, People’s Light, Diversionary, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, TheatreSquared, and others. International: Edinburgh, London, New Zealand, Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Brussels, Ukraine, Rome. MFA Directing: Yale. SDC. jessidhill.com
Jessica R. Jenen (General Manager) is a Four-time Tony Award winning producer and has been an international producer, theatrical manager and consultant for thirty-five years. Executive Producer, 2023 & 2024 Drama Desk Awards. 2025-26 Broadway season: Waiting for Godot; All Out: A Comedy About Ambition; Giant. 2024-25 Broadway season: Sunset Boulevard (Tony Award); All In: A Play About Love; The Last Five Years; Buena Vista Social Club (Tony Nomination), Dead Outlaw (Tony Nomination). Previous Broadway credits: Stereophonic (Tony Award); Gutenberg The Musical (Tony Award); The Who’s Tommy (Tony nomination); An Evening with Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin; Venus in Fur (Tony nomination), which was the most produced new play in America during the 2014 season. London Producing Credits: All My Sons, Giant, Stereophonic. Ms. Jenen was a lead producer of the London Olivier Award Winner: Get Up Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical. JRJ Productions is also a proud stakeholder of the following West End productions: Inter Alia; Born With Teeth; The Fifth Step, How to Fight Loneliness; Sunset Boulevard; Stranger Things: The First Shadow; A Little Life; Dr. Semmelweis; The Motive and the Cue; Patriots; A Streetcar Named Desire; Standing at the Sky’s Edge; The Shape of Things; Strange Loop; The Ocean at the End of the Lane; Accidental Death of an Anarchist; The Crucible, and Macbeth starring David Tennant and Cush Jumbo. As Broadway Company Executive Producer: I’ll Eat You Last, The Heiress, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Death of a Salesman, Clybourne Park, Nice Work If You Can Get It. National Tour: Into the Woods. Former Executive Director, Classic Stage Company: Select Credits: A Spanish Play; New Jerusalem; Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, The Seagull; Unnatural Acts; The Tempest. Ms. Jenen served as General Manager of Rock & Roll Man, Off Broadway. Former Vice President & Senior General Manager Broadway International Group / Broadway Asia International, developing large scale theatrical projects for production throughout the global marketplace. JRJ Productions serves as Executive Producer and General Management Consultant to myriad projects. Adjunct Lecturer for Brooklyn College’s Graduate Performing Arts Management program; Board of Directors, Off Broadway League; Member Broadway League. Executive Committee Board Member, WP Theater; Board of Directors, Broadway Producers Alliance. www.JRJTheatrical.com.
About TheaterWorks Hartford
TheaterWorks Hartford, led by Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero and Managing Director Jeff Griffin, has produced relevant, engaging, contemporary theater for 40 years at their historic Pearl St. address. Founded in 1985, TWH is committed to the power of storytelling in creating community and has produced over 200 plays and musicals, including the world premiere of High (with Kathleen Turner), Relativity (with Richard Dreyfuss), and Make Me A Song: The Music of William Finn, among others. Visit us at twhartford.org.