Overview
Synopsis
In late August 1991, the Soviet Union was collapsing. Global economic structures were changing, and the head of one a powerful international bank was turning 54 years old. Sara Goode is gathering friends and family to her house in Queen Anne’s Gate, London, to celebrate her milestone. Her younger sister Gorgeous Teitelbaum flies in from Boston, and her youngest sister Pfeni Rosensweig returns from India just in time for the celebration. Add in Sara’s stubborn teenage daughter Tess, Pfeni’s sometimes-boyfriend Geoffrey, and Marv Kant, a faux furrier from New York, and the evening promises to be interesting. The Sisters Rosensweig is a comedic and heartfelt examination of family and faith, driven by three women who are finally--in middle age--reaching the prime of their lives.
Show Information
- Book
- Wendy Wasserstein
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 1992
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
- Settings
- Contemporary, Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- Queen Anne’s Gate, London, England
- Cast Size
- medium
- Licensor
- Dramatists Play Service
- Ideal For
- College/University, Community Theatre, Ensemble Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Female, Theatre, Includes Mature Adult, Adult, Late Teen, Young Adult Characters, Medium Cast
Context
Wendy Wasserstein’s play The Sisters Rosensweig contains many of the themes the playwright was known for, most notably her focus on women and women’s lives. As she writes in the Preface to the play, “I deliberately set out to write smart and funny parts for women over forty.” Contained within these women’s lives is the search for identity, the conflicts of economics and class systems, and the significance of religion.
The play itself is set against the fall of the Soviet Union. While
to read the context for The Sisters Rosensweig and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Act One
Late Friday morning, Tess Goode is lounging in the sitting room of an elegantly decorated house in Queen Anne’s Gate, London. She is listening to a recording of her mother’s college a cappella group while speaking into a tape recorder herself. She is working on a final senior project for school, a type of documentation and analysis of her family’s younger years. In a flurry of activity, Pfeni Rosensweig enters, laden with shopping bags for luggage. Tess greets her aunt as her
to read the plot for The Sisters Rosensweig and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
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Lead |
Female |
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Lead |
Female |
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Lead |
Female |
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Supporting |
Female |
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Supporting |
Male |
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Supporting |
Male |
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Supporting |
Male |
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Supporting |
Male |
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Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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Guide Written By:
Cindi Calhoun
Theatre teacher, director, writer, and seamstress