Stumbling Stones Synopsis
Told through layered moments rather than a single timeline, Stumbling Stones follows one man’s journey from surviving injustice to confronting it wherever he finds it. Across decades and landscapes, from Nazi Germany to Mississippi courthouses to Appalachian coalfields, the play explores how the pursuit of justice and the creation of home are bound together—and how memory itself can become a call to action.
The story begins in fragments of childhood: a courtyard in pre-war Germany, neighbors’ voices in stairwells, and the synagogue at the center of community life—moments shattered as violence closes in. That memory never leaves John Rosenberg; it shapes every step he takes after coming to America. As the play moves fluidly through time, we see him carry the weight of that past into his work, asking not only how to survive the world as it is, but how to repair it for those who come after.
His path leads him first to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, where he joins cases challenging voter suppression and systemic violence in Mississippi during the 1960s. In living rooms and courthouses, he learns from the extraordinary courage of people risking everything to be heard—people like Fannie Lou Hamer, who reminds him that even when the courts fail, the fight continues. These early lessons become a thread running through the play: justice isn’t an abstract promise; it is built by those who refuse to be silent.
From there, the story turns to the Appalachian coalfields, where John and his wife Jean move with their young family to open a small legal-aid office. They face resistance from local power brokers and entrenched systems—but they also find neighbors willing to stand together. What begins as a battle over dusty deeds written generations earlier becomes a broader fight for dignity, land, and home. Alongside John’s legal battles, Jean shapes the heart of the community—offering childbirth education where none existed, organizing support for mothers, and helping families find power in each other. The play treats her influence not as a backdrop but as part of the central story: justice happens in courtrooms, yes, but also in kitchens, classrooms, and quiet acts of care.
Woven through these intersecting struggles is a deeper invitation: what do we owe to one another across time? The play asks us to see the work of justice as a relay—one generation carrying forward what another began, each act of courage leaving a path for those still to come. It reminds us that repairing the world is not an abstract idea; it happens one choice, one person, one community at a time.
Performed by Jeff Sherr with a simple, flexible set, Stumbling Stones is designed to adapt to almost any venue—black box, community hall, conference center, or theater. The production runs approximately 80 minutes, with optional audience talkbacks or CLE-style panel discussions available to deepen the conversation and connect the play’s themes to the urgent questions of today.