Campus Update

(November 19, 2007)

Cohen Edits Shared Stages
 
Sarah Blacher Cohen, professor emerita of English at UAlbany, recently edited the book Shared Stages: Ten American Dramas of Blacks and Jews, published in October.

A collection of plays, Shared Stages: Ten American Dramas of Blacks and Jews dramatizes the relationships between blacks and Jews in American society.  The plays include Driving Miss Daisy, I'm Not Rappaport, Fires in the Mirror, and Medal of Honor Rag.  Important historical events such as the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, the women's rights movement, and urban conflict are highlighted with respect to the destinies of blacks and Jews. 
 
"The unique relationship of blacks and Jews-fighting each other at times, but also marching together, laughing together, and dying together-is vividly depicted in the plays of Shared Stages. This anthology presents an unflinching and inspiring record of the bond between blacks and Jews," wrote Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP.
 
Cohen is an author and playwright whose previous works include Making a Scene: The Contemporary Drama of Jewish-American Women, as well as her plays, Molly Picon's Return Engagement, The Ladies Locker Room, Schlemiel the First, and The Old System.