Plays by Anne SarzinMy Green AgeLouise, a woman of mature years living a traditional Jewish life in Sydney, Australia, initiates—via email—a reunion with her first love, David, now an assimilated Jew in New York City. Their attempt to square with their past unleashes recriminations, all coolly observed by Louise’s daughter, Miranda. 3W,2M, one actContact: anne@write4u.com.au Plays by Art SchulmanBagelsAfter meeting through an online dating service, two seniors (50+) go to his home to play Scrabble. A snowstorm forces her to stay the night. The next morning an old female "friend" suddenly shows up. The remainder of this poignant comedy involves romance, love, and yes, sex, among seniors. 2M, 2W, single set, interiorSex Is Good for You!A man who recovers from a heart attack refuses to have sex with his wife because he thinks that the exertion will kill him. She'll do virtually anything to get him to have sex, including asking an attractive nurse to seduce him. 3M, 2W, single set, interiorContact: Artshulman@aol.com Plays by Arthur SchwartzThe General and the JewMayer Shindel's efforts to free the Jews of Mizutch from their Cossack oppressor seem doomed to failure when his friend and protector, General Tarkov, dies...........Song for Chaim LevyThe lives of Mayer Levy, his wife, and especially his son Chaim, are changed forever when Duvid, a newly arrived immigrant comes to live in his house....If the White House Calls, I'm OutAn already very nervous comedian, Bobby Breit (Breitstein) is terrified when he gets an invitation to the White House...Contact: 516-763-4603 Plays by Janece ShafferBluish36 year-old Beth Richardson discovers after a lifetime of Santa Claus that she is Jewish. Her Jewish fiancé isn't thrilled like his parent's with this "wonderful” news. Beth embraces her new found identity/faith and this puts tremendous strain on her relationship with Ben, and finally asks how much change can love withstand? 2 men, 4 women, one set, interior.Hula-Hoopin' Hannah & Her Hanukah AdventureAfter being excluded by her best friend, 10 year-old Hannah is disappointed to be spending the first night of Hanukah with her Grandmother and "Martin the Martian" - the world's nerdiest fourth grader. Hannah learns the true value of family, friends and tradition when she experiences a dream in which household objects come to life, challenging Hannah to fight for her grandmother in an outlandish game show adventure. 3 men, 4 women, one set, interior.Contact: schnig@msn.com Plays by Marsha Lee SheinessNew Times - a serious comedy in two actsSylvia and Eli return home from a long day's work at the flea market. It is Sylvia's 70th birthday, a special day, being treated casually, until Ritchie, their 35-year-old son, drops in unexpectedly. Their intimate relationships unravel as the three of them engage in a harsh and tender attempt to be understood and to understand. For the first time, Ritchie and his father become willing to let go of a troubled past and brave the unknown experience of NEW TIMES. 2 men, 3 women. 1 unit set.Bernie and the Beast- a bittersweet comedy in one actBoth Bernie and Evelyn are small in stature but giants in spirit. Lost somewhere in South Dakota, they sense they are on their last vacation as their evening unfolds at the Blue Lagoon Motel. As the play progresses the characters reveal the many levels of love and dependency as well as a solid commitment to an enduring relationship. 1 man, 1 woman. Unit Set.Contact: msheiness@nyc.rr.com Plays by Jmes ShermanHalf and HalfACT ONE: 1971. In a kitchen, the husband reads the paper and the wife makes the eggs. ACT TWO: 2006. In the same kitchen, the wife works online and the husband makes the frittata. A comic exploration of how roles for men and women have (and haven't) changed. 2 W, 1 M, one set, interiorFrom Door to DoorInspired by "L'dor V'dor" ("From Generation to Generation"), From Door to Door spans 70 years of family history in a funny, touching tribute to three generations of Jewish women in America. 3 W, unit setContact: jsplays@aol.com Plays by Brenda ShoshannaThe Idol WorshipperA Hasidic raised, but Buddhist oriented single mother and two of her sons - Aaron, deeply attached to his analyst, and Mendy, inflicted with a strange mental illness - struggle with her third son, Joseph, who returns from Israel a Hasid, convinced that he can cure his retarded brother, and not only him, the entire family. As she struggles to keep her family together, the mother discovers and re-claims long, lost parts of herself. The ending contains a startling surprise, which unites and frees everybody. 1 woman, 3 men.Contact: topspeaker@yahoo.com Plays by Zan SkolnickA Private AudienceSuggested by a true story, the play is a fact-based riff on the odyssey of a persevering Israeli Ambassador (to Italy) whose "unofficial” efforts led to the Vatican's recognition of the State of Israel, and eventually led to the pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II to Israel (in 2000) and his visit to the Kotel. 7-8 M, 2 W, several small sets.Bob & MeThis musical memoir is about two blessedly stupid young Jewish men who wrote a musical revue, then a book musical and tried to sell them in NYC on their summer vacations. The titular "Me” tells of their friendship, their misadventures, their separation, Bob's death and their figurative reunion in this retrospective of their songs. 5 M, 5 W, slide projector, no set.Contact: zbskol.zsa@earthlink.net Plays by Pete Wolf SmithAre You There, My Son?A dark, King Arthur-like tale based on the rise of the biblical King David, ARE YOU THERE, MY SON? is loosely based on the rise of the First Book of Samuel. Samuel, Saul, David, and Jonathan vie for power in a tale of intrigue and deception. 8 men, 2 women. Multiple locations, but a bare stage or single, non-realistic set are all that's required.A Piece of EarthTakes place in New York and Israel, and moves back and forth in time between the summer of 1997 and the biblical past. A divorced Jewish man travels to Israel and contemplates the wrong turns in his life, while Abraham, Sarah, Rebecca, Esau, and Ishmael appear and tell their own stories. Multiple characters, male and female, played by 6 actors. Bare stage or "concert-style."Larusso's New CareerDoes a little graft make you a bad person? A municipal engineer gets in over his head with the Mob and the FBI, while his lawyer, a former civil-rights crusader, bargains to keep him out of jail and winds up in an ethical swamp of his own.6 M, 2 W. Interior sets -- can be represented with changes of furniture or different locations on a single set InformationIn a post-9/11 world, a religious Jew and a Christian missionary meet in an airline terminal. As one attempts to deflect the other's missionary zeal, they learn they have more in common than either would have thought.1M, 1 W, one-act, one set, interior. Contact: petewolfsmith@earthlink.net Plays by Joan Ross SorkinThe Dane in BrooklynA Brooklyn deli. Two brothers. One dead. The son of the deceased returns from Vietnam to find his mother sitting shiva and his uncle part of the furniture. Something is rotten in the borough of Brooklyn. The play is an imagining of a Hamlet set in a Jewish family in Brooklyn, 1969. 5M, 3W, unit set, interiorJewish TimeFive one-act plays comprising an evening of theatre (can be mounted singly). Comedies and dramas explore political and social issues of the 20th century from the horrors of the Holocaust and its surprising legacies, to an unexpected event of the Arab-Israeli conflict, to the present day concerns of interfaith marriage. 3M, 4W, 1M, 10 year old child
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