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Sarah Blacher Cohen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sarah Blacher Cohen (June 11, 1936 in Appleton, Wisconsin, – November 10, 2008 in Albany, New York) was an American writer, scholar, and playwright, and a professor at SUNY Albany for 30 years. Her area of specialty was Jewish American fiction. Her published books include Comic Relief: Humor in Contemporary American Literature,[1] Saul Bellow's Enigmatic Laughter (1974),[2] and Cynthia Ozick's Comic Art: From Levity to Liturgy.[3][4] She edited From Hester Street to Hollywood: The Jewish-American Stage and Screen (Jewish Literature and Culture Series), Making a Scene: The Contemporary Drama of Jewish-American Women,[5] and Jewish Wry: Essays on Jewish Humor. Her plays include The Ladies Locker Room,[6] and Molly Picon's Return Engagement, a biographical play with music on the star of Yiddish theater. She collaborated with Joanne Koch, starting in 1989 on Sophie, Totie, and Belle,[7] a musical on performers Sophie Tucker, Totie Fields, and Belle Barth. 'She and Joanne Koch also co-authored the plays Danny Kaye: Supreme Court Jester,[8] Soul Sisters, Henrietta Szold: Woman of Valor,[9] an adaptation of Saul Bellow stories entitled Saul Bellow's Stories Onstage: The Old System and a Silver Dish,[10] and the multicultural musical Soul Sisters.[11] Cohen and Koch co-edited an anthology of ten plays Shared Stages: Ten American Dramas of Blacks and Jews,[12] including Driving Miss Daisy, Fires in the Mirror, and Soul Sisters. She collaborated with Isaac Bashevis Singer on the off-Broadway play Schlemiel the First. Cohen also gave talks and delivered papers, including "The Unkosher Comediennes: From Sophie Tucker to Joan Rivers."[13] Her husband was Gary Cohen. She died of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease on November 10, 2008 age 72.

References

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  1. ^ "Comic Relief: Humor in Contemporary American Literature by Cohen Sarah Blacher Ed.: Fine Hardcover (1979) | Shadow Books".
  2. ^ "Item no longer available". AbeBooks. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  3. ^ Search resultsiupress.indiana.edu Archived 6 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Book Details".
  5. ^ Cohen, Sarah Blacher (1986). From Hester Street to Hollywood: The Jewish-American Stage and Screen. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253203708.
  6. ^ Cohen, Sarah Blacher (April 1997). Making a Scene: The Contemporary Drama of Jewish-American Women. Syracuse University Press. p. 130. ISBN 9780815604044.
  7. ^ "'Sophie, Totie and Belle' brings back iconic trio in fine fashion". palmbeachartspaper.com. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  8. ^ "New York State Writers Institute - Danny Kaye: Supreme Court Jester".
  9. ^ "New York State Writers Institute - Henrietta Szold: Woman of Valor".
  10. ^ "Joanne Koch". www.midlandauthors.com. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016.
  11. ^ "Review: Soul Sisters (Clockwise Theatre) | Chicago Theater Beat". chicagotheaterbeat.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012.
  12. ^ Shared Stages.
  13. ^ "The Catskills Institute".
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