CTA kicks off 50th year with opera first performed by concentration camp children

Lots of children read about Anne Frank. This is like meeting her.

That's how Kathy Swekel, executive director of the Children's Theatre of Annapolis, summed up a series of talks by a Holocaust survivor that will accompany the troupe's season-opening show next month.

"Brundibar" is a vast departure from the CTA's typical fare, which generally includes classics like "Peter Pan" or "The Music Man," but board members want the troupe, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, to expand its horizons.

"In my opinion, it takes us to a different level of theater," said...