LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- Dear Esther, a dramatic presentation depicting the life of Holocaust survivor Esther Terner Raab, will be presented in Rider University's Fine Arts Theatre on Wednesday, May 20, at 7 p.m. The production is being co-sponsored by Rider's Julius and Dorothy Koppelman Holocaust/Genocide Resource Center and Abrams Hebrew Academy.

Raab, whose grandchildren attend Abrams Hebrew Academy, took part in the largest prisoner break-out of World War II. She was one of 300 prisoners who escaped from Sobibor, a Polish death camp where one million Jews were killed during the war. Her story has been immortalized in the motion picture entitled Escape from Sobibor, based on Richard Rashke's book by the same name.

When the movie aired on television, Raab was contacted by educators who asked her to come into the schools and tell her story. Dear Esther, also authored by Rashke, takes its name from the thousands of letters written to her by school children as a result of seeing the movie or hearing her story in person.

The play, which premiered on January 25, 1998 at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, has been touring the mid-Atlantic region and has been well-received by audiences highly-moved by the story.

The troupe will present two shows. Tickets to the opening night performance on May 20 are $16, and must be purchased in advance by calling Abrams Hebrew Academy at (215) 493-1800. A post-performance wine and cheese reception with Esther Terner Raab and the cast members will be held for supporters of the event who contribute more than $500. All sponsors donating at least $180 will be mentioned in the Playbill.

The second show on Thursday, May 21 is for school children only. Abrams Hebrew Academy will sponsor this event at no charge to the students in an effort to bring this story to as many school children in the community as possible.

Rider University's Lawrenceville campus is located five miles south of Princeton and three miles north of Trenton on Route 206 in Lawrence Township, NJ. The campus is one-half mile south of exit 7A of Interstate 95.