Synopsis

Adam Baum and the Jew Movie - DPS ACTING EDITION

$13

Daniel Goldfarb

Published by Dramatists Play Service

2 Male 0 Female

Hollywood, 1946. Jewish movie mogul Sam Baum prepares to give notes to Gentile screenwriter Garfield Hampson on his screenplay about anti-Semitism

Time is of the essence. Zanuck at Fox has his own "Jew Movie," Gentleman's Agreement, and America can only take one

Gar arrives, excited and optimistic. Sam chats him up, but then gets to the point: The script is too Jewish; Gar has written it "as a Jew, and not as a Gentile"

The men argue about the script, about what it means to be American, what it means to be Jewish

Sam invites Gar to his son Adam's Bar Mitzvah, so he can see what Jews are really like

Late Saturday night, the Bar Mitzvah is winding down, and Sam slips into his study

Adam appears, in his plaid suit and yarmulke. Sam takes the yarmulke from him

Adam asks if he can sing him his portion. Sam refuses, gives his son a "shake hand lesson" instead

Gar appears, a little drunk, with a present for Adam: tools. Adam leaves

Sam asks Gar what he's learned from the Bar Mitzvah. Gar is appalled by it. Sam calls him a communist

Adam appears. Sam asks him to drop his pants to show Gar what makes him Jewish

Adam runs off

All is lost. Sam and Gar cannot get on the same page

Gar asks if Sam's fear is about money. Sam calls Gar a "Jew hater," and finally understands the genius of Zanuck, hiring Moss Hart, a Jew, to write Gentleman's Agreement

"Only a Jew could write a Jew and not think of writing a Jew"

The movie is off

Gar leaves, devastated. Adam returns. Sam apologizes to him, and asks him to sing his portion

Adam sings as Sam weeps

"Stocked with uneasy questions about self-deception and self-hatred" ~ Time Magazine

"Comic genius" ~ Variety

"The script has a complexity that is rare by today's dumb-and-dumber standards. Here, after all, is a play that understands just how insidious prejudice is and also how racist attitudes can be lurking in the most unexpected places" ~ NY Daily News

Cast requires 1 boy also

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