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Drama
Full-length, 90-100 minutes
4 females, 4 males (8-30 actors possible: 4-15 females, 4-15 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
This is the heroic and true story of children coming of age in Terezin, the "Jewish city" established by the Nazis near Prague as a way station before the death camps. In the face of unspeakable horror, these children use their determination and creativity to build lives filled with hope and beauty -- playing, studying, making art, and writing an underground newspaper -- all at the peril of being executed. Their actual poems and stories are woven into a fast-paced drama, evoking the universality of children caught in the insanity of war.
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| "[And a Child Shall Lead] not only sheds light on this dark camp, it's also relevant to modern conflicts around the world." |
| --Christopher Stollar, Bend Bulletin (Oregon) |
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Irena's Vow by Dan Gordon
based on the life of Irena Gut Opdyke |
 
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Drama
Full-length, 95-100 minutes
4 females, 6 males (10-23 actors possible: 4-16 females, 6-17 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Through the eyes of a strong-willed woman comes the remarkable true story of Irena Gut Opdyke and the triumphs of the human spirit over devastating tragedy. 19-year-old Irena Gut is promoted to housekeeper in the home of a highly respected Nazi officer when she finds out that the Jewish ghetto is about to be liquidated. Determined to help twelve Jewish workers, she decides to shelter them in the safest place she can think of: the basement of the German commandant's house. Over the next two years, Irena uses her wit, humor, and courage to hide her friends until the end of the German occupation, concealing them in the midst of countless Nazi parties, a blackmail scheme, and even the birth of a child. Her story is one of the most inspiring of our time.
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| "The emotions this stage biography stirs in theatergoers are genuine, a testament to the bravery and tenacity of the woman whose real-life story is being told. Irena's Vow serves as a compelling, heartfelt reminder of her incredible courage." |
| --Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press |
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| OY! by Rich Orloff |
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Comedy
Full-length, 90-120 minutes
2 females, 3 males (5-44 actors possible: 2-41 females, 3-42 males)
$75.00 per performance; $9.99 per book
NOTE: Each piece in this anthology can be licensed and performed separately.
OY! is a collection of 13 short comedies, each illustrating the meaning of a Yiddish word -- including the untold stories of Eve and Adam, Einstein's demanding mother, the divorce trial of God and the human, the use of unkosher food as an aphrodisiac, and three men in a steam room who communicate using only the word "oy." Appealing to audiences of all backgrounds, OY! is a tribute to the absurdity and comedy of being human.
To purchase this book of 13 plays, click "Order this play" above. To perform an individual play, click on its title below:
Word Play
Eve and Adam: The Untold Story
Good News From Albert
Stevie Goldstein Faces the Day of Atonement Unprepared
Can This Marriage Be Saved?
Oy
Murray, Leo and Sol Rewrite the Criminal Code
A Trolley Named Tsuris
Close Call
Is Lust Kosher?
Come Light the Menorah
Last-Minute Adjustments
What Makes a Man?
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| "You don't have to be Jewish to appreciate the wonderful humor of OY! Do yourself a favor and don't miss OY!" |
| --Arlington Weekly News |
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Drama for young audiences
Full-length, 100-120 minutes
13 females, 15 males (20-28 actors possible: 9-13 females, 11-15 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
World War Two. The Nazi Occupation of Poland. Dr. Janusz Korczak -- writer, educator, physician, and passionate advocate for children -- tries to keep the 200 Jewish boys and girls of his famed Warsaw orphanage alive and hopeful in the face of unbelievable deprivation and terror. In the horrible conditions of the Jewish Ghetto, Korczak does everything within his power to make sure his children are fed and clothed, cared for and safe. But there are rumors of a change in the ghetto. Tales of deportations to concentration camps are spreading. And Korczak knows time may be running out. Against the rules of the ghetto, he permits his orphans to stage a magical play -- The Post Office -- to teach them about the one adult subject he has not yet broached with them: death. As the play is rehearsed, the rumors become reality, and Korczak must decide who can be saved and who must go on the final journey together.
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| "Although the subject of Korczak is dark and painful, Hatcher's play is packed with the humor and vigor of children living in an enclosed world that feels separated from the darkness lapping around it...Korczak's Children is a timely and significant play for children old enough to grapple with the consequences of war and deep-seated prejudice." |
| --Elizabeth Weir, Talkin' Broadway |
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Drama
Short, 30-40 minutes
3 females, 2 males (5-9 actors possible: 3-5 females, 2-4 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Three young people growing up in Nazi Germany struggle to claim their identities and transition into adulthood in this collage play about ethics, family, and self-perception. Marian's father wants to hide a Jewish family, but Marian just wants to fit in. Ernst joins the Hitler Youth but has trouble fully embracing the lifestyle. Rebecca endures discrimination from teachers and students for her Jewish heritage. No answers come easily as these three characters experience ordinary growing pains in the face of extraordinary historical tragedy.
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Drama
Full-length, 107-115 minutes
6 females, 4 males (8-14 actors possible: 5-7 females, 3-7 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
An adaptation of Sabina Zimering's memoir, Hiding in the Open tells the true story of two Jewish sisters from Poland who assume false Catholic identities and work in a Nazi hotel during World War II. Living in constant fear of having their identities revealed, the sisters bravely face danger and the challenges of growing up while keeping their heritage a secret. Thrilling and heart-warming, this story of survival and teenage courage examines the bonds of family and human kindness in the face of great atrocities.
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| "A disturbing, true tale of double lives...demonstrates the power of truth-telling and the art that shapes it." |
| --Lisa Brock, Star Tribune (Minnesota) |
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Drama
Full-length, 60-70 minutes
1 female
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
"I am a one-breasted, menopausal, Jewish, bisexual lesbian Mom, and I'm coming soon to a theatre near you!" A woman's humorous and moving encounters with relationships, parenthood, cancer, and her ever-changing self are charted in this searingly honest solo piece.
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| "An elegant writer with a keen eye for description, she paints her experiences vividly in her wry, witty, warm and ultimately revealing script." |
| --The Washington Post |
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Comedy
Full-length, 100-110 minutes
3 females, 4 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
After leaving her cheating husband, Bea discovers, to her horror, that her nice Jewish son Hal has secretly been running a sex shop in London's Soho district. When Hal closes up shop for a two-week holiday, his prudish mum insists upon smartening-up the ramshackle store while he's gone. Afraid to lose sales in the meantime, she finds she has a flare for counseling the lonely customers who wander in -- and for selling them sex toys. Surrounded by edible knickers and blow-up dolls, Bea discovers more about sexuality than she ever wanted to know, which may be just what she needs to save her own troubled marriage.
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| "Len Richmond is London's answer to Neil Simon." |
| --London Theatre Review |
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Comedy
Short, 10-15 minutes
1 female, 1 male
$35.00 per performance; $9.99 per book
NOTE: This play is part of an anthology called Great Short Comedies: Volume 1.
Thirteen-year-old Samuel Rosenbaum is finally a man. It's the day of his Bar Mitzvah and he's survived reading the Torah, ballroom dancing, and crazy relatives...but will he be able to get the girl?
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Holiday comedy
Short, 15-25 minutes
2 females, 2 males
$30.00 per performance; $9.99 per book
NOTE: This play is part of an anthology called Great Short Comedies: Volume 4.
A suburban Jewish family returns home on the third night of Chanukah to find that their house had been broken into. Panic and distrust conspire to convince the family that their neighbor's latent anti-Semitism has played a role in the vandalism. Home for the Chalidays is a hysterical satire about the conflicting roles of secularism and cultural differences and, ultimately, the evolving nature of the American Jewish family.
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Comedy
Full-length, 85-95 minutes
3 females, 4 males (7-26 actors possible: 3-10 females, 4-16 males)
$75.00 per performance; $9.99 per book
NOTE: Each piece in this anthology can be licensed and performed separately.
Foreign Affairs is comprised of seven short comedies set in seven different countries, between November 1989 and November 2004. From a timid East German bureaucrat's response to the fall of the Berlin Wall (Berlin Promotion) to a kinky tryst in Buenos Aires (Triumph in Argentina), from a vacationing couple in Rio stripping away pretensions, and possibly more (Brazilian Wax Eloquent) to a Pope who finds himself accidentally married to a showgirl (I Married a Pope: The Pilot Episode), Foreign Affairs takes an irreverent look at sex, religion, and politics, international style.
To purchase this book of 7 plays, click "Order this play" above. To perform an individual play, click on its title below:
Berlin Promotion
Prague Summer
I Married a Pope: The Pilot Episode
Triumph in Argentina
Off the Map
Brazilian Wax Eloquent
Bulgarian Rhapsody
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| "Bright, zany comedies! Audiences will find a good dose of humor to make the world seem slightly friendlier." |
| --American Theatre Web |
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Drama
Full-length, 65-75 minutes
7 females, 3 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Young people want to connect with one another in every era, but in the wake of tragedies like 9/11, that impulse is especially strong. Taking place in 1963 and 2001, this powerful drama shows how youth deal with the aftermath of terror: from making chocolate truffles, to painting murals, to exploring other religions. Their solutions may seem naive, but their hope makes everything possible.
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Drama/Comedy
Full-length, 75-90 minutes
3 females, 3 males (6-18 actors possible: 3-8 females, 3-10 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
A mismatched romance on a Brooklyn subway, an unexpected date, a couple struggling to have a baby, an artist re-discovering his passion: these stories and more are artfully woven together to create a tapestry of humor, love, sorrow, and romance. Through a series of short scenes, Heart of the City is a valentine to the joys and challenges of contemporary life that will take you on a dazzling ride through the trials and triumphs of the heart.
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| "Buoyed by its palpably benign worldview. Unlike many social mosaics, it does not, for once, amount to a blunt condemnation of urban existence. How refreshing." |
| --Andy Webster, The New York Times |
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Comedy
Short, 10-15 minutes
3 females, 2 males (5-7 actors possible: 2-4 females, 1-3 males)
$35.00 per performance; $9.99 per book
NOTE: This play is part of an anthology called Great Short Comedies: Volume 3.
Little Tzipporah O'Malley is a disfigured girl with a heart of gold. From her home in the cradle of the Confederacy she embarks on an odyssey to heal the world.
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Musical Comedy
Full-length, 90-100 minutes
6 females, 3 males (9-15 actors possible: 6-11 females, 3-5 males)
$8.99 per book
Other prices can be calculated by clicking "More Info"
In a spunky take on the Dickens classic, the story of Scrooge's redemption is set in the exciting, ragtime world of New York, circa 1911. Evelyn Scrooge runs her sweatshop with an iron fist but slowly
opens her heart as she is visited by a Yiddish-spouting Ghost of Christmas Past and a gospel-wailing Ghost of Christmas Present. The score, which includes work by Victor Herbert and George M. Cohan,
brings the age old Christmas story to life with rousing production numbers set to familiar songs from "Hello, My Baby" to "The Streets of New York." Wildly funny and deeply moving, The Christmas Carol Rag brings a new twist to an old chestnut.
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| "...a wholly delightful affair with the potential to become a recurring seasonal favorite." |
| --Michael Toscano, The Washington Post |
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Drama
Full-length, 65-75 minutes
3 females, 4 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
In the 1880s, Jacob Riis took a camera into the tenements and dives of New York's Lower East Side, showing the world "How the Other Half Lives" in his famous book. Born out of a haunting photograph, this play delves into the world of Mullen's Alley, and the lives of a handful of kids who are ferociously determined to grow and live in spite of the many obstacles in their way. With wit, anger, and ingenuity, these immigrant children carve out lives for themselves as they interact uneasily with the intrusion of Riis and his omnipresent camera.
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Drama
Short, 30-40 minutes
6 females, 4 males (10 actors possible: 2-8 females, 2-8 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
While reviewing "the principle of equilibrium" for their upcoming chemistry exam, a group of friends discuss the racist actions of a teacher at the school. Confronted with a recent example of his favoritism towards white students, they debate whether they should respond in some way to the racism they perceive, or just continue studying. The unexpected appearance of a fellow student further complicates matters as he forces them to admit the true feelings under their good intentions. Witty, genuine, and thought-provoking, this play explores the forces that maintain the status quo in both chemical and human reactions.
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Drama
Full-length, 80-90 minutes
4 females, 3 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Seven lives intersect in this compelling drama inspired by the true stories of rescuers and hidden children in Nazi-occupied Holland. The voices of the oppressed, the oppressors, and the quiet heroes come together to share their bold stories of defiance in this eloquent play celebrating hope and humanity -- and the hidden courage inside us all.
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Drama
Full-length, 80-90 minutes
3 females, 2 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
When Ruth, a young doctor, skips her grandmother Leah's funeral, she ignites three generations of love and secrets. Her boyfriend walks out, her mother pays a devastating surprise visit, and Leah's harrowing childhood journey -- a family legend -- intertwines with Ruth's own. An ordinary train ride mysteriously takes Ruth through her Russian Jewish family's untold history, opening her to a fuller understanding of her mother, her grandmother, and herself.
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| "Well-written and well-performed drama about family and the importance of cherishing life and connections..." |
| --Anita Gates, The New York Times |
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Drama with humor
Full-length, 80-90 minutes
2 females, 3 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
In 1944, Raphael Lemkin invented the word "genocide" and spent his life fighting to have it recognized as an international crime. But when the U.S. finally signs his law -- decades after his death -- the Rwandan and Bosnian genocides erupt and torment Lemkin in the afterlife. If genocide cannot be stopped, how will Lemkin rest?
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| "Ms. Filloux does not discount Lemkin's efforts, but she also makes grimly clear that good intentions mean nothing in the face of killers who revel in unrestrained savagery and have no reason to fear retaliation. Lemkin's House is rarely preachy, but it is a call to action nonetheless." |
| --Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times |
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