In Washington, this week “The Pianist of Willesden Lane” is playing at the Kennedy Center. The 90-minute solo show that opened for the first time in 2014 has a powerful message on, among other things, the importance of hosting and helping refugees. As the State Department announced that they have lowered the limit on the number of refugees that will be accepted this coming year by one third, the performance is also a timely reminder.

“The Pianist of Willesden Lane” is the story of the performer’s mother and how she, as a child, escaped Austria in the wake of Nazi attacks on Jewish families to England. Even as England braced for war and London suffered the nightly terror of the blitz, Jewish children from all over Europe were absorbed into society.