IN THOSE DAYS the musical. Music, script, performance and video by Franklyn Wepner. An original script adapted from the novel of the same name, written by Yehuda Steinberg in Hebrew in 1904. IN THOSE DAYS is a musical show about a Jewish boy's resistance to assimilation in 19th century Russia. As part of his plan to force the Jews of Russia to assimilate, Tsar Alexander delegated to Jewish "catchers" the job of kidnapping Jewish boys around the age of 10. These boys then were transported from their homes in western Russia to central Russia, where they were brought up by Christian families. Collectively, these boys were known as "cantonists". At age 15 they were sent as soldiers to fight in the Russian army during the Crimean war. Tens of thousands of Jewish children suffered this fate. Most died of disease or during the war. Those remaining alive usually intermarried. This show is about a boy Samuel, who remains true to his Jewish tradition throughout this ordeal.