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Unexpected Tenderness

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  3w, 4m

"A play of real power and dimension... It stays with the mind and heart." N.Y. Post.

"One of the most horrific but complex stage fathers in recent dramatic history." Chelsea Clinton News; "Characters spring to immediate life and built in h…

Unexpected Tenderness

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 4m

Details

Summary
This poignant drama about a dysfunctional Jewish family in Massachusetts is structured as a memory play. Roddy Stern recalls what it was like growing up in a family dominated by his paranoid and pathologically jealous father, a truck driver who lurked outside his house instead of working to catch his wife with other men. A long suffering and abused saint, Roddy's mother raised two children in this difficult environment. Roddy's complex father is portrayed as a loving man with a demon inside that he fights but cannot exorcize. He eventually loses all control and drives away the family he loves

Media

REVIEWS

"A play of real power and dimension... It stays with the mind and heart." - N.Y. Post.

"One of the most horrific but complex stage fathers in recent dramatic history." - Chelsea Clinton News

"Characters spring to immediate life and built in humor helps propel both the characterizations and the plot." Variety

Videos

  • Israel Horovitz on Changing As a Playwright youtube thumbnail

    Israel Horovitz on Changing As a Playwright

  • Israel Horovitz on Short Plays youtube thumbnail

    Israel Horovitz on Short Plays

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

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Authors

Israel Horovitz

Israel Horovitz (1939-2020) was a playwright, director and actor. His plays have been translated and performed in as many as 30 languages worldwide. His 70+ plays include Line (which ran for 50 years of continuous performance, off-Broadway, at 13th St. Repertory Theatre), The ...

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