The engaging 80-minute play by award-winning journalist and playwright Helen Benedict, “The Lonely Soldier” tells the real-life stories of women who served in the military in Iraq.  Their stories focus on the many challenges they faced, ranging from warfare and discrimination to their own consciences. 

Journalist, author and playwright, Helen Benedict, based the play on her book, “The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women in Iraq.” Benedict, a professor of journalism at Columbia University, has testified twice to Congress on behalf of women soldiers.  Her work on women soldiers inspired a class action lawsuit in 2011 against the Pentagon and Defense Secretaries Rumsfeld and Gates on behalf of members of the military who were sexually assaulted while serving.  Her work has also inspired several documentaries, many television programs, and articles in the international press, including the Oscar-nominated 2012 film, “The Invisible War.” The film galvanized legal changes in the treatment of sexual assault within the military, and is now mandatory viewing for many recruits.

Tickets for “The Lonely Soldier”are now available online. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students, seniors and veterans and may be purchased online at http://hhrcmaine.org/lonely-soldier/ . Each performance is followed by a facilitated discussion, and there will be support information and literature available at each location. A special performance for women only will be held on Sunday, March 15, at 2 p.m. at the Klahr Center on the campus of the University of Maine in Augusta.

Other performances are at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 12, and Friday March 13; and at 2 and 7 p.m., Saturday, March 14. 

The Holocaust Center is located at 45 University Drive.