THE STORY: Talented and precocious, Irving Yanover, at the tender age of 10, is both a piano prodigy and, at times, a thorn in the side of his orthodox parents, who lament his unaccountable predilection for bacon. But knowing that his mother and father indulge a similar passion (while dining out at a Chinese restaurant), Irving can only question their double standard. But even more upsetting is the unhappy fate of Annie, the Yanovers’ young Ukrainian housekeeper, whose romance with a young Italian immigrant is bitterly opposed by her staunchly old-world parents—even though everyone knows that Annie’s father is an enthusiastic devotee of Italian opera. Happily, however, these and other problems are delightfully resolved, with wit, gentle humor and a warm sense of humanity which will endear the play to audiences of all faiths and backgrounds.
Based on stories by Morley Torgov. The first of a trilogy (
A Rosen by Any Other Name,
The Chopin Playoffs) of warm-hearted, gently funny plays dealing with Jewish home life in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in the 1940s. This first play centers on the coming of age of Irving Yanover, a precocious, musically gifted pre-teenager, who chafes at the strictness (and hypocrisy) of his parents, and the unreasoning opposition encountered by Annie, their young Ukrainian housekeeper, in her romantic aspirations.
“…wide in its appreciation of family values and the yearnings of youth.” —The New York Times.
“Israel Horovitz has created a warm, funny yet penetrating study of the age old struggle between the double standard of adult behavior and the absolutes of right and wrong taught to children.” —BackStage.
“It is a poignant comedy, as warm as the Yanover home, sweet without being cloying, gentle, and even wise.” —Newsday (NY).
