Rose

by Martin Sherman

This powerful one-woman play is a moving reminder of some of the harrowing events that shaped the century and remains sadly relevant today with racial tensions and allegations of antisemitism continuing to dominate the news.

Blending the personal with the political, this sharply drawn portrait of a feisty Jewish woman traces Rose's story from the devastation of Nazi-ruled Europe to conquering the American dream. Rose reflects on what it means to be a survivor. Her remarkable life began in a tiny Ukrainian village, took her to Warsaw's ghettos and a ship called The Exodus, and finally to the boardwalks of Atlantic City, the Arizona canyons, and salsa-flavoured nights in Miami beach.

This revised edition was published to coincide with the new production at London's Park Theatre starring Maureen Lipman as Rose.

Genres: Plays

64 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 1999

Reviews

[Regine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Passing through New York in 1999, I was lucky to see Olympia Dukakis’s bravura solo performance. Reading the play brings back the laughter and the tears.

As Rose sits shivah for the dead, she tells stories from her life. Born in a shtetl in Ukraine, she survives the Holocaust, settling in Atlantic City, then Miami Beach. She has children and grandchildren in the U.S., Europe, and Israel who have not known pogroms and concentration camps. She has created a successful life. Her son tells her, “Your shadows will choke us to death.” But she does not forget. And -more important- she does not confine her compassion to people like herself.

Moving. And always relevant.

[Roger Briggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

solo performance by Olympia Dukakis...playwright Martin Sherman, also wrote the Tony nominated play Bent