The Sisters Rosensweig

by Wendy Wasserstein

Three sisters meet to celebrate the birthday of the oldest, Sara, a divorced banker, who, at fifty-four, discovers there is still the possibility of romance

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, Fiction, Humor, American, Audiobook

109 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Wendy Wasserstein was an award-winning American playwright and an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She was the recipient of the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Reviews

[Brina]

The Sisters Rosensweig is a play by feminist playwright Wendy Wasserstein that debuted in 1992. Looking in depth at what it means to be a single, middle-aged, Jewish female in the late 20th century, Wasserstein's original cast production packed a powerful punch. The Broadway production included now famous actresses Frances McDormand and Madeleine Kahn. Although probably more poignant on stage, the script also leaves the reader awed by Wasserstein's work.

The three sisters Rosensweig have gathered at the home of oldest sister Sarah Goode in London to celebrate her fifty-fourth birthday. An American ex-patriot happy to be living in England with her teenaged daughter Tess, Sarah leads a high profile life as president of the Hong Kong/Shanghai Bank. Middle sister Dr. Gorgeous Teitelbaum exudes happiness and warmth as the suburban, middle class, working mother of four who also finds time to head charitable organizations at her synagogue. Meanwhile, youngest sister Pfeni Rosensweig has just turned forty and proudly wears the label of wandering Jew. All three sisters appear happy with their chosen lifestyles.

Wasserstein in her preface to the printed edition states that she chose these personas to focus on older women. The 1970s and 1980s brought exponential advances to women in the working world and at home. No longer did women have to shoulder 100% of the second shift, especially if they had high profile jobs outside the home. Yet, some women like Pfeni and Sarah did not "have it all", choosing to divorce or remain single. Bringing her feminist perspective to the single working woman, Wasserstein delves into the inner psyche of what it means for them to choose career over family, creating multi-layered, memorable characters.

Even though Wasserstein previously won the Pulitzer for drama for The Heidi Chronicles, I enjoyed Rosensweig more as three distinct women grapple with their life choices. Sarah who on the surface is content desires companionship while Pfeni wanders the globe has an inkling of settling down. Meanwhile Gorgeous might not be the sister who has is all as everyone suspects. In touching moments, the sisters share their shortcomings and dreams and what they desire in order to achieve a happy equilibrium for the rest of their lives.

The Sisters Rosensweig gleans from other playwrights, most notably Anton Chekhov. Wasserstein desired to present a modern take on his classic The Three Sisters and does a masterful job. As Sarah, Gorgeous, and Pfeni pass on to Tess what it means to be a working, single, Jewish female in the late 20th century, Wasserstein presents that feminism comes in different forms to each individual. A play just as powerful as her Pulitzer winning drama, I rate The Sisters Rosensweig 4 bright stars.

[Doug]

2.5, rounded up.

I know I read this when it first came out but - unlike other of Wasserstein's work - I had almost no memory of it - and for good reason. There is barely any 'plot' per se, and though there are a few witty lines, 95% of the dialogue sounds highly improbable as speech from actual human beings. I'm sure the powerhouse original cast, including the Tony-winning Madeline Kahn as 'Dr. Gorgeous', made something delightful from it - it just reads as rather a mess.

[Illiterate]

Educated, professional, middle-aged women. Strong on snappy lines. Weak on plot and ideas.

[Kaethe]

I have no specific memories of this play, but I won't let a detail like that shut me up. No, I'm going to take a moment to complain about how there aren't enough women writing plays, and not enough plays by women being produced, and not enough women directing, and not enough women starring, etc., ad nauseum. So just to even things up a bit, and since Lin-Manuel Miranda could use a break, I propose a year of nothing but theater by and of women. A one-year ban on dudes. And if you don't have the role of producer and can't make it happen, well, then, stay home and read a play by a woman. We all need to read more plays.

Library copy

[Maggie Haberman]

Man, biphobia is crazy. I don’t think Wasserstein is biphobic, I think this was a pretty conventional view at the time, but it is somewhat of a bummer.

That being said, as a 3rd culture euro American Jewish kid this really spoke to me. Tess in particular has some stunning lines speaking to this experience:

“Aunt Pfeni, are we people who will always be watching and never belong?”

Pfeni doesn’t really give her an answer but at my big age Id say “yes”.

Then,

“You wouldn’t want m(y life). I don’t even know what mine is. Mother, if I’ve never really been Jewish, and I’m not actually American anymore, and I’m not English or European, then who am I?”

You are perpetually insufficient, Tess. But other people with the same experience will see you and understand, but it won’t be enough. ❤️

[Heidi Hankins]

While the story/plot is simple without a ton “happening” Wendy Wasserstein still manages to write these smart women so well. I love the sisterhood and how the dialogue slowly reveals their relationships and sense of self. I also love imagining Jane Alexander, Madeline Kahn and Frances McDormand as the sisters and wish I had seen that staged production. I love Wasserstein’s writing. Taken too soon from this world.

[Olivia Conway]

i’ve missed reading plays, and this one was so sweet

[Julia]

i enjoyed this? man, how does one write about plays. i mean, er, i've succeeded in writing about my opinions of plays before, but this one has notably little/zero stage direction, which somehow makes it harder, and more difficult to ignore that this is a thing meant to be performed and not read. like, the direction and performance choices would be really crucial for this one—i could see it coming off as super obnoxious if performed badly. but like, judaism! women! wit! how could i not enjoy this, of course. the only thing I can think of to say is that the portrayal of the bi character felt kind of ~problematic~ but who knows, maybe it was faithful, as a not-bi person i can't really speak to the Bi Experience. but like having a guy leave a girl because he realized he "misses men" seems like the sort of plot point that, from what i've read, bi people generally aren't into/think is a false portrayal of how they actually act. but this is a minor part of the play—it's mostly of the "judaism! women! wit!" goodness.

[Ellen]

Overall a really likeable play. That sounds like quite a bland and banal statement to make about a play but I did feel that this was a very likeable piece with some great older (40s -50s rather than just 20s) female characters which under the right direction and with the right actors playing them could really come to life. I suppose the main theme of this play is identity or lack of it. Its not the worlds most original topic and I don't think its a play which will turn your world on its axis but then I don't think every play needs to do that. Some are more subtle in their message. The writing to me is very strong, full of humour and warmth and every time I picked it up I felt like I was coming back to an old friend.
I think this is a piece which will appeal to a wide section of audiences and although this is set in the 90s I still think its a relevant piece for today and so far has aged well.

[Shazia]

After really enjoying Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles, I was looking forward to The Sisters Rosenweig. Unfortunately, Sisters does not live up to its predecessor. While The Heidi Chronicles deftly capture pivotal moments in the characters' lives, with their conversations seeming incredibly real while quickly moving the story along. There was a lot of witty banter, but it fit the scenes and actors. The Sisters Rosenweig, on the other had, is full of witty banter that seems extremely unlikely. The conversations and paths they take also seem implausible. The sisters were only moderately interesting, so that left me with not a lot to write. I listened to the audiobook, which should have added to the experience of "reading" the play, but even the fine performances could not make this story real.

[Darinka]

I really liked this play! I fell in love with all three sisters (confession: I would totally read a spin off of Pfeni in a heartbeat). Absolutely wonderful humour and lovable characters. It was just a great and yet simple story about relatable contemporary women of different ages ánd it has great theatre and music references.

[Kristyn Rose]

This is an excellent play. A lovely insight into the complexities of thee different women, who have the joyous fortune to be sisters. I can just imagine the great Madeline Kahn as Gorgeous. Pfeni pulls at my heartstrings, having known a man like Geoffrey myself. I love well-told stories of the relationships between women, and this is definitely one.

[Cocva]

This is an excellent play. A lovely insight into the complexities of thee different women, who have the joyous fortune to be sisters. I can just imagine the great. Pfeni pulls at my heartstrings, having known a man like Geoffrey myself. I love well-told stories of the relationships between women, and this is definitely one.

[Sarah]

Wasserstein's wit impresses in this heartfelt story of a generation of sisters, all struggling to find their place in mid-life. With a cast of comfortable characters saying funny things to avoid getting hurt, the camraderie between the sisters is what really makes the play sing.

[Felicia]

Wonderful. Funny, intelligent,witty.

[Steven]

The ups and downs of Jewish American Princess sisters as they reach their forties...

[Lauren]

Not the best. Interesting but the ending felt flat to me. Still would like to see it performed.

[Brian McCann]

I remembered it being funnier. Loved the OBC, especially the wonderfully stoke Madeline Kahn as Doctor Gorgeous.

[John]

Wendy Wasserstein's "The Sisters Rosensweig" is a homage to Chekhov's "Three Sisters." Set in the London during the fall of the Soviet Union (remember when pundits were stating history had ended!), Wasserstein's play involves the reunion of the three titular sisters for the eldest's birthday. The play has little to no discernible plot, but instead, focuses on character and detail as the three sisters attempt to understand each other and themselves better over a few days.

Sara, the eldest, has left her old life behind, both physically and emotionally, which her grown daughter Tess alludes to when she speaks of the rootlessness of her identity. Sara's long married, middle sister, Gorgeous, is the most rooted and lives in the states. She too though has reinvented herself as a radio therapist. Their younger sister, Penny, or Pfeni, as Geoffrey, Pfeni's bisexual lover, has deemed her was once a traveling reporter writing books about developing countries, but now writes travel articles for high end magazines for rich people. Wasserstein explores the theme of how much we lose of ourselves as we assimilate into the larger, surrounding culture.

The characters' Jewishness can been seen on a spectrum with Gorgeous still observing the Sabbath (the scene in which she has a napkin on her head is very funny onstage), Pfeni being intellectually curious about their family's and culture's histories, and Sara mostly disregarding their past, taking her ex-husband's Anglo name of Goode. The happiest character is certainly Gorgeous who knows who she is, connecting her past and present in which there exists few dissonances. Her older and younger sister, however, both seem dissatisfied with their lives, even though both have achieved worldly success.

Although Wasserstein was arguably the most successful woman playwright of her generation, her plays often illustrate discomfort with feminism, both its successes and its failures. Pfeni and Sara, for all their career successes, are largely unhappy because of their man struggles, both failing to achieve a happy domestic life that their middle sister Gorgeous has accomplished. Both are alone when we last see them, as Pfeni's lover goes back to sleeping with men and Sara's one night stand Mervyn returns to the US. While no one wants to watch a play with characters who just serve an idea at the detriment to the roundness of their personalities, her plays also can be seen as cynically commercial, validating the choices of her mostly middle-class audiences.

I remember seeing this play at Lincoln Center with the three fabulous performances by Jane Alexander, Madeline Kahn and Frances McDormand. Wasserstein knows how to write characters that great actors like these have to room to create breathing, memorable people. I remember that production, whatever my criticisms, fondly.

[Pamela]

Three sisters all meeting up in the eldest, Sara's, London flat.

This is the first play I think I've read, and I've made up my mind on one thing... I don't like to read plays. It was a totally different experience than a book since there really wasn't much of a story, and the characters weren't all that interesting. To begin with, who has sisters named Sara, Pfeni (Penny?), and Gorgeous (Gorgeous?). The play never really explained the Pfeni or the Gorgeous -- or even if Gorgeous was really a doctor. The play also wasn't too subtle about the fact that the sisters were in REALLY different situations -- Sara was a divorced mom living in London with a big career. Pfeni was a bohemian who traveled the world (not sure what she did for money. Maybe write reviews?) And of course, there had to be a married sister, which was Gorgeous (Gorgeous?) who had a husband and kids and a job as a therapist, a more traditional life.

No explanation about why Sara was in London which was kind of weird. Weird male characters who seemed almost unimportant. Geoffrey was with Pfeni (Penny?) and was gay and dramatic. Merv kept hitting on Sara for no apparent reason. And Gorgeous didn't seem to really like her husband at all. UGGGH.

[Ray]

Terrific piece of theatre by Wendy Wasserstein, especially if you know the main actors involved. Original cast included Frances McDormand, Madeline Kahn, Jane Alexander and Robert Klein. This is the tale of three sisters from Brooklyn who gather in London for the oldest sisters birthday. Very funny at times, with enough pathos and heartache tossed in to balance the material. I enjoyed it tremendously.

[Elizabeth]

3.5 stars.

The Sisters Rosensweig was a pretty solid play! Some of the dialogue is really funny, and as a Jewish feminist exploration of three sisters' relationship and their lives as individuals it is interesting and worth pondering over. I listened to the LA Theatre Works production of this, which has Jamie Lee Curtis absolutely nailing her role as Pfeni, and it was a solid production overall and worth the listen. I'll be looking forward to trying more of Wendy Wasserstein's plays.

[Mary K.]

This was a Broadway play recording, a bit deceiving, and I listened to it as an audio-book. I had trouble knowing who was speaking in correlation to characters. But overall it was entertaining. Goodreads suggested it because of the "Sisters series" by M.C. Beaton, Marion Chesney, or else I would not have chosen it.

[Marita LaRosa]

I somehow missed the plot here? It was somewhat hard to follow. I felt like I stumbled across a family in the middle of the story trying to figure out what the direction is. Maybe that’s the point? Finding one’s path and showcasing how life can be so fluid? The characters seemed lovely enough but it was a little unorganized for my taste.

[Gena Lott]

I was totally prepared to love this play. And it was funny for the first scene. But there are aspects of it that are far too liberal for my taste and the inclusion of some pretty bad swearing made it not sooo fun and lovable as I first had hoped.

[Judy]

Clever and romantic, but for me it lacked the depth of the other plays I had read that year, which were mainly ancient classics. This play won the Best Broadway play of the 1992-1993 season from the Outer Critics Circle.

[Isabella]

3.75 stars

[Barbara]

Fun read especially listening to actor that I know. Light and funny.

[Andrew Hanna]

3.5, kinda feel good, why is she so erudite tho?

[Alexis]

Perhaps it is fortunate that I do not comprehend the obsession to address people as "Jew."