White Rose, Burning Truth: A Timely Masterpiece

From left to right, William Swoboda as Alex Schmorell, Marko Van Slyke as Hans Scholl, Elliot Lippman as Willi Graf, and Lio Landis as Christl Probst in The Rose of Treason at First Stage Young Company. Photo credit: Paul Ruffolo.

A review of The Rose of Treason

by Ellie Wilhelm, age 15

First Stage’s Young Company, an audition-based theatrical group, put on the play The Rose of Treason, which ran through Sunday, November 16. The play, written by James DeVita, tells the true story of siblings Sophie and Hans Scholl, two German college students who rallied against Adolf Hitler in the early 1940s through a group called the White Rose. The story is powerful, and reminds the audience of the terrible event that was the Holocaust. Young Company tackled this show’s topics and portrayed it very well through the utilization of movement, lighting, and costumes.

Firstly, the movement and blocking of the play helped in bringing it to life. The director, Reva Fox, and assistant movement director, Paxton Haley, used the space to create an immersive experience that reflected the topics of the play. It was clear that a lot of time and effort was put into making the play flawless. For example, the way each character moved helped to identify who they were. Namely, the Nazi soldiers were much stiffer, while the university students moved more freely. This also helped to establish the idea of power and how there was an unethical imbalance in this time. Not to mention, the stage is in the round, almost entirely surrounded by seats, which makes blocking and movement much more difficult, but Young Company tackled this with ease, using perspective to ensure that every seat could see the actors clearly.

The lighting of Young Company’s production was outstanding as well. The lighting coordinator, Marion Frank, ensured that they utilized spotlights, blackouts, and projections to display what was going on. The lights really helped me track what was happening while watching the play. For example, when there were interludes of monologues, they used spotlights to help the audience see that. They also used blackouts effectively—not only for scene changes, but also for many other purposes that elevated the play’s quality. They used projections of quotes spoken by Adolf Hitler, which enhanced the tense feel of the whole show. These were also used as transitions to carry the play forward.

Additionally, the costumer, Michelle Verbos, created unique and effective costumes to portray meaning. One notable aspect about the costumes is that everyone was in white—pants, shoes, and shirts—with layered costume pieces on top. In the story of The Rose of Treason, the white rose has a large significance, so I found that putting everyone in white, especially the university students, really hinted at the deeper meaning. Furthermore, each costume accurately represents the time period, location, and events. This really helped the audience feel immersed in the story and assisted in portraying the terrifying and unjust events that went down. 

In summary, Young Company did fantastic at putting on a very difficult show that many other theatres could not pull off! I recommend this show to older teens and adults due to its graphic topics that would not suit children. However, the topics are very important for everyone to know and understand. The Holocaust is not something we should take lightly, and this show does a fantastic job at educating us from a perspective we may not always see. The Rose of Treason reminds us all the importance of speaking up for what is right, and that sometimes, the majority isn’t always the best.

Although the show is over, you can next catch Young Company in action in their future production of Julius Caesar, which runs March 13-22, 2026. First Stage also has many amazing performances in the works that you won’t want to miss!