Awake & singing - Ellen Schiff

Jewish playwrights and plays of Jewish interest intended for general audiences have been increasingly conspicuous on the American stage since the early 20th century. No wonder. The evolution of Jewish life in America teems with richly dramatic material: immigration
making it
intergenerational family relationships
the impact of the Great Depression
two World Wars
the Holocaust
the establishment of Israel
and the emergence of feminism and alternative life styles. And pre-eminently and enduringly
the dilemma of identity: how to acculturate without losing one's Jewish identity. A retrospective of the American Jewish repertoire of the last 80 years tells us a good deal about how Jews have perceived themselves and America and how America has perceived Jews.Schiff's collections
Awake and Singing (1995) and Fruitful and Multiplying (1996) were the first ever to represent the magnitude and importance of the American Jewish repertoire. This new edition brings together five plays from those pioneering anthologies: Elmer Rice's Counsellor-at-Law; Clifford Odets' Awake and Sing!; Sylvia Regan's Morning Star; Paddy Chayefsky's The Tenth Man; and Herb Gardner's Conversations with My Father. They are joined by Broken Glass
Arthur Miller's first play to focus specifically on deeply disturbing American Jewish problems: assimilation
self-hatred and terrified awareness of the Nazi threat to European co-religionists. The introductory essay provides a cultural and historical overview and there are generous headnotes to each play.