GUILT TRIPS & MISHEGAS:
AN EVENING OF JEWISH HOLI-PLAYS
by David Lipschutz
A rabbi and several congregants present an evening of plays centered around Jewish holidays. The stories delve into the lives of family members – grandparents, parents, and children alike – as they navigate the complexities and comforts of holiday traditions. Through these interactions, the plays explore themes like generational divides, the power of cultural rituals, and the unique ways Jewish families celebrate. These narratives introduce characters who blend humor and emotion, offering lighthearted moments and deeper reflections on family and tradition.
- Cast Size: 8M 9W 7+ Any (Flexible Casting)
- Running Time: 90+ minutes
- Royalty Rate: $75 per performance
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About the Playwright
David Lipschutz (he/him) i
s a Chicago-based artist, an associate member of the Dramatists Guild, and a company member of Hell in a Handbag Productions. He has written works performed throughout the United States, Canada, England and Australia.
His play, Guilt Trips and Mishegas: An Evening of Jewish Holi-Plays, was first performed as part of Playwrights Thriving Reading Series. His other full lengths have been performed with Handbag, where he wrote the Jeff Recommended The Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes, Vol. 3 (co-written with Artistic Director David Cerda) and had a reading of his first full length musical, FriGAY the 13th! The Musical.
Notable one-acts and ten-minute plays include G’Oy Vey! with Spoonie Theatre [TANYS Award Recipient-Excellence in Playwriting]; The Shomer with the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture [Judges Choice-Best Play]; The All-New Dating Game! Video Game Edition with StageWorks [NJACT Perry Award Nominee-Outstanding Production of an Original Play]; Modus Operandi with Kankakee Valley Theatre Association [Runner Up-Best Staged Play]; Performance Anxiety and PerSEVERance with Left Edge Theatre; hYdration with Theatre West; Pete & Petria’s Petrifying Podcast (co-written with Dana Hall) with Gather By The Ghostlight; and Ahavah (co-written with Dana Hall), which has been performed with over a dozen theatres around the world.
Other published plays include Modus Operandi (Heuer Publishing), The Shomer (Best Men’s Monologues 2023/Smith & Kraus), Ahavah (Best Ten-Minute Plays 2023/Smith & Kraus), and hYdration (Best Ten-Minute Plays 2022/Smith & Kraus).
This collection of short plays works its way through a year of Jewish holidays, and by the time you get to the end of the year, you will have felt so many emotions: The plays go from happy to sad to weird (things get SO WEIRD at times, and always in the best ways.) Both a cohesive whole and a collection of shorts which can stand on their own, this would be a wonderful show for theaters of varying budget and cast size needs, as it’s fairly easy to stage and endlessly adaptable.
Review Guilt Trips and Mishegas.