HOWARD DASILVA (1909 - 1986)
| Nationality: | USA |
| Literary Agent: *: | n/a |
| Email: | n/a |
| Website: | n/a |
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Plays by Howard DaSilva
Zulu And The Zayda, The |
| 1st Produced: | - | - | ||||
| Company: | - | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN | - | |||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
| Genre: | - | Play with Music | Parts: | Male | 17 | Female | 4 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||||
| Notes: | written by Howard DaSilva, Felix Leon and Harold Rome. Based on the story by Dan Jacobson | |||||
| Synopsis: | As outlined in the Hollywood Reporter: ". . ..Has to do with finding a 'grandpa sitter' for Zayda, who has a habit of wandering off and getting lost somewhere on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Harry Grossman's South African servant, Johannes, convinces him that his brother, Paulus, would be the ideal man to keep a watchful eye on the old man. The two of them hit it off immediately, with Zayda learning Zulu expressions, and Paulus in turn being taught Yiddish. Pretty soon, it becomes the relationship almost of father and son, going on long walks together, with some amusing discourses on the differences as well as similarities in customs and traditions, and this fraternization inevitably leads to trouble with the authorities, who impose sever penalties for traveling without a pass, or going "where you don't belong," or for being a host to a new-found companionship, Zayda inevitably gets Paulus and his circle of friends into the police mesh. One complication follows another, with Paulus eventually being dismissed and sent off by Harry Grossman, the trouble-plagues son of Zayda. It breaks the old man's heart. However, in the end, all winds up happily." | |||||