Proven one-act comedies

Can You Ever Forgive Arthur Kleinman?

2 M, 1 F

Approximately 40 minutes

Arthur and Molly Kleinman are visiting 91-year-old Rabbi Schatz, a resident of the Workmen’s Circle Home for the Aged. Arthur has come, they explain to Rabbi Schatz, to apologize for an affront made 40 years ago, when Arthur refused to go through with his bar mitzvah, after having been prepared for that rite by the rebbe. When they reveal that now their son is also threatening to refuse, Rabbi Schatz believes he is being used as a pawn in a family situation, and old passions flare before Arthur finally receives the absolution he came for.

Daniel Ortega And Those Yom Kippur Blues

2 M, 1 F

Approximately 40 minutes

Arthur Kleinman sips whiskey in a shabby barroom. He tells the Nicaraguan bartender Luis that he has left evening Yom Kippur services because he refuses to atone for sins he hasn’t committed, and because he found no spiritual comfort in the synagogue. Luis mixes a potent drink which he claims will bring Arthur the spiritual experience he seeks.

Enter Reesy, a hooker, desperate for money to buy drugs from Luis. Arthur, now on a high, is enticed into some torrid dancing with Reesy, and soon discovers it’s easier to sin than he ever believed.

The Last Request Of Eddie Carmichael/Cohen

2 M, 2 F

Approximately 40 minutes

Edward Carmichael lies in his bed at Our Lady of Mercy hospital, awaiting the end. Though he has been a Catholic all his life, he announces to his nurse, Sister Veronica, that he is really Jewish. Enter Rabbi Murray Schecter, whom Carmichael has chosen from the Yellow Pages, to marry him to his longtime paramour, Esther Goldman, also summoned by phone. Rabbi Schecter, must decide whether to accede to the wishes of dying man who may not be truthful, and who might be crazy.

The Best Meal You Ever Ate

2 M, 1 F

Approximately 40 minutes

Avram, formerly an assistant professor at the university, and his wife Netti, are the last two Jews left alive in the ghetto, and they haven’t eaten in days. To their astonishment, a chef, Jean-Paul, makes his way to where they have hidden, bringing with him a wonderful meal, complete with wines. Jean-Paul explains that he applauds their courage, and has persuaded the German commander that they should be allowed one final, sublime meal before they are destroyed. But is it kosher? And…could that dish actually be ham?

Are You Jewish?

2 F (Plus voice heard on a loudspeaker)

Approximately 15 minutes

Sonny Simmons, weather reporter for a cable system, is doing her nightly weathercast when Rose Glassman, an older woman, appears in the studio. Convinced that Sonny is Jewish, Rose has come to interest the lovely young weathercaster in meeting her son Norman.

Though Sonny tries gamely to carry on with her report, Rose insists on pressing her mission, and with the cable audience watching, invites Sonny to “a nice shabbos dinner.” The cable system’s phones begin to ring. The audience is fascinated by the unfolding drama, and the director, anxious for publicity, keeps the cameras rolling.

Matters take an unexpected turn when it develops that Rose is wrong. Sonny isn’t Jewish, after all.