Clever Rachel, the play
Publisher: Dramatic Publishing
Genres: One Act Plays
Excerpt:
Rachel is smart, maybe the smartest child in the entire village, and she loves to solve riddles. But Jacob, the smartest boy in the boys school, shows up to challenge Rachel. Will they fight each other and become enemies or find a way to work together to make their village a better place?
Set in a Jewish community in 19th-century Poland and based on a medieval Jewish folktale, the play asks the question, "Can girls be as smart as boys?" Rachel lives with her family in their small bakery and inn and has acquired a reputation as a clever girl who can figure out answers to the most challenging riddles. But the traditional roles of men and women don't allow for women to be intellectuals. Her father believes in her and brags about her skills, her mother is afraid to tempt fate by praising her daughter, and her younger brother just wants to play. A series of visitors (all played by the same actress) take advantage of her wisdom, but things come to a head when Jacob, the smartest boy in town, challenges her to a contest of wits. Somehow they both win and find something that neither had before—a friend.
Reviews:
BWW News Desk, on Broadway World, wrote:
Pumpkin Theatre continues its 44th Season "What's in a Name?" with a new play, Clever Rachel! Originally a children's book by Debby Waldman, Pumpkin Theatre in partnership with the Center for Jewish Education, have adapted it for the stage. Set in Poland in the late 1800s, Rachel struggles to understand her role in society as a young woman.
Pumpkin Theatre, on Patch, wrote:
The Pumpkin Theatre presents a new play based on the book by Debby Waldman.
The Center for Jewish Education in collaboration with Pumpkin Theatre has adapted a brand new play, based on a Jewish folk tale: "Rachel the Clever."
Lorraine Treanor, on DC Theatre Scene, wrote:
Wanting a Jewish-themed children’s play, Dan Kirsch, JCCNV’s newly appointed Cultural Arts Director, found what he was looking for with Clever Rachel, adapted by Moses Goldberg from the book by Debby Waldman.
