Soldier of Orange

Soldier of Orange (Dutch: Soldaat van Oranje) is a Dutch musical production, based on the true story of resistance hero Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema. In the 1970s, he wrote his experiences during World War II down in a book and director Paul Verhoeven made it into a 1977 film, starring actor Rutger Hauer. The musical premiered on 30 October 2010, in a theatre that was purpose-built for the production: the TheaterHangaar on the former Valkenburg air base in Katwijk (in an old hangar). Queen Beatrix attended the premiere together with Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema's widow, Karin. Soldier of Orange is produced by NEW Productions, which is a subsidiary of investment company Amerborgh Nederland. In the autumn of 2020, an English version of Soldier of Orange was set to premier in a newly build Royal Docks Theatre near London City Airport but the plans were postponed in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic started. Plot Student Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema and his friends are carefree, until the Germans invade the Netherlands in the early days of May 1940. The war changes everything. They can no longer take friendship and love for granted. Everybody has to make choices. Fight for the country and for freedom? Focus on studying and deny what's going on? Or join the enemy?