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McGinn Cazale Theatre, NY

2000

Blue Light Theatre Company

Dramatists Play Service, NY

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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

Comedy/Drama

Comedy

2

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1b

Notes:
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Synopsis:
Hollywood, 1946. Jewish movie mogul Sam Baum prepares to give notes to Gentile screenwriter Garfield Hampson on his screenplay about anti-Semitism. Time is of the essence. Zanuck at Fox has his own Jew Movie, Gentlemans Agreement, and America can only take one. Gar arrives, excited and optimistic. Sam chats him up, but then gets to the point: The script is too Jewish; Gar has written it as a Jew, and not as a Gentile. The men argue about the script, about what it means to be American, what it means to be Jewish. Sam invites Gar to his son Adams Bar Mitzvah, so he can see what Jews are really like. Late Saturday night, the Bar Mitzvah is winding down, and Sam slips into his study. Adam appears, in his plaid suit and yarmulke. Sam takes the yarmulke from him. Adam asks if he can sing him his portion. Sam refuses, gives his son a shake hand lesson instead. Gar appears, a little drunk, with a present for Adam: tools. Adam leaves. Sam asks Gar what hes learned from the Bar Mitzvah. Gar is appalled by it. Sam calls him a communist. Adam appears. Sam asks him to drop his pants to show Gar what makes him Jewish. Adam runs off. All is lost. Sam and Gar cannot get on the same page. Gar asks if Sams fear is about money. Sam calls Gar a Jew hater, and finally understands the genius of Zanuck, hiring Moss Hart, a Jew, to write Gentlemans Agreement. Only a Jew could write a Jew and not think of writing a Jew. The movie is off. Gar leaves, devastated. Adam returns. Sam apologizes to him, and asks him to sing his portion. Adam sings as Sam weeps.

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I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com

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Musical

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Notes:
Lyrics and music by Andrew Lippa

Synopsis:
Former comic star of the silver screen - Jerry Baron now has a live television programme. His tv bosses want a Christmas Special - but Jerry is Jewish.

Bernard B Jacobs Theater, New York

2006

-

SH-K-Boom records

2007

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

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Musical

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Notes:
Conceived by Martin Short and Scott Wittman; Book by Martin Short and Daniel Goldfarb; Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman; Additional Material by Alan Zweibel

Synopsis:
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Longwharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticutt

20002

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Dramatists Play Service, NY

2005

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

Romantic Comedy

Comedy

2

2

-

Notes:
ran in New York off-Broadway from November 11 2004- May 6 2005 at New World Stages

Synopsis:
In a Manhattan coffee shop, Ben, an Upper West Side financial consultant, meets Hershel, an Orthodox jewel merchant, to buy an engagement ring. Although both men are Jewish, it is their shared religion that instantly divides them. Tension mounts in the midst of the deal when Ben suggests Hershel remove his yarmulke. Desperate to make the sale, Hershel obliges. In the apartment they share, Ben proposes to his girlfriend, Hannah, a sensitive yet stong-minded doctor. Hannah accepts, but the moment is muddled by mixed emotions for each of them and the sudden and unexpected arrival of Hershel on their doorstep! Frantic and frenzied, Hershel recounts that since he removed his yarmulke, his life has fallen apart. Hershel moves in with Ben and Hannah and they begin the task of putting his life back togetherby finding him a bride. A modern couple, they turn to the Internet for matchmaker. On Shabbat, Hannah arrives home from a long day at the hospital, upset. Although Hershel has never been alone with a woman before, he offers Hannah comfort and support, which leads to a kiss. Hershel goes out on his first date with Rachel, the online suitor. As Hershel discovers his love for Rachel, Ben and Hannah rediscover their love. Three months later, Ben and Hershel meet again, as changed men, no longer divided by their faith. They have learned something from each other, and each couple is ready to embark on married life; one beginning as Orthodox virgins, the other as modern parents-to-be.

Williamstown Theatre Festival

2007

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I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com

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Musical

3

3

plus 4 ensemble (2 men, 2 women).

Notes:
by Daniel Goldfarb; Music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum

Synopsis:
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Manhattan Theatre Club

2004

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Dramatists Play Service, NY

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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

Comedy/Drama

Comedy

2

2

-

Notes:
-

Synopsis:
In Toronto, 1961, Sarah Grosberg prepares tea she will serve to her future daughter-in-law, eighteen-year-old Rochelle Bloom. Vincent, her Polish housekeeper arrives, puts on his dress (he cleans in drag), and gets to work. Rochelle arrives, and Sarah begins questioning her. Sarah does not think she is good enough for her son, Artie. Rochelle is poor, her family has terrible genes, but worst of all, they live in a house but cant afford to pay for the wedding. Rochelle stands up for her family and for her love for Artie, whom she will support while he is finishing his philosophy degree. Philosophy? Sarah thinks her son is studying dentistry. Just then, Artie arrives. Sarah confronts him and demands that Rochelle give him his ring back. At this, Vincent interferes and confronts Sarah about her own past. She does not come from a rich, educated family in the old country but is an abandoned orphan. Sarah, broken and ashamed, begs Artie not to ever tell anyone her terrible secret. Act Two jumps forward forty years to the industrial city of Hefei, China, where Jeannie Grosberg, Sarahs single granddaughter has come with her father Arthur (Artie, all grown up) to adopt a baby, whom she will name Sarah, after her grandmother. After she gets the baby, she calls her mother and worriedly tells her that Sarah is sick and weak. Another couple, Miles and Maggie, goes to the orphanage and brings back information about Sarah. But Arthur will have nothing of it. He thinks that Jeannie should give the baby back. Late at night, Jeannie stands up to him, and Arthur finally accepts the baby as his granddaughter. On the Great Wall of China, Arthur speaks to Sarah about the woman she is named for. Sarah, from Act One, appears. Arthur tells his mother not to be ashamed. Sarah holds Sarah.