"This anthology brings together seven plays that display a wide variety of dramatic narratives, methods, and talents."—Choice
"Up to this point, talented Jewish women playwrights have had no published anthology of their works. Cohen's anthology is the very first of its kind . . . . A major contribution."—Joyce R. Ladenson, Michigan State University
"These plays are both accessible and difficult, inviting and complex. Above all, they are vital. We are now able to hear what has been concealed for so long behind the partition, thanks to Sarah Blacher Cohen."—Myra Sklarew, The American University
Description
In Judaism, women’s voices have been silenced, leaving the tradition enriched with only a “half-genius.” This collection of seven plays by Jewish women playwrights helps make whole this half-genius by giving voice to some of the most creative forces in Jewish and American cultural life today.
– Wendy Wasberstein’s Isn’t It Romantic comically examines Jewish women caught in complex, modern-day families.
– Barbara Lebow’s A Shayna Maidel portrays the pain of the Holocaust survivor.
– Sarah Blacher Cohen’s The Ladies Locker Room takes a comic look at the identity crisis of the physically challenged.
– Roisrnan’s Nobody’s Gilgul is a contemporary re-reading of the Biblical figures Eve and Lilith.
– Barbara Kahn’s Whither Thou Goest illuminates Jewish lesbian relationships.
– Brooks’s The Night the War Came Home explores Black-Jewish relations.
– Merle Feld’s Across the Jordan focuses on Israeli and Palestinian women working for peace.
About the Author
Sarah Blacher Cohen is professor of English at the University at Albany, SUNY, and is a leading scholar of Jewish-American literature and an accomplished playwright. She is the author of Saul Bellow's Enigmatic Laughter and Cynthia Ozick's Comic Art: From Levity to Liturgy. Her plays include the musical Molly Picon's Return Engagement and The Old System. Professor Cohen collaborated with Isaac Bashevis Singer on Schlemiel the First and coauthored, with Joanne Koch, the musicals Sophie, Totie & Belle; Sophie Tucker: Red Hot Yiddishe Mama; Soul Sisters; and the screenplay Belle.
6 x 9, 378 pages, 7 black and white illustrations
April 1997