A DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE TITLE

Eight Nights

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  3w, 4m

Jennifer Maisel

Eight Nights follows Holocaust survivor Rebecca Blum and her family as they grow and evolve as Americans over the course of eight decades. In their Lower East Side apartment, Rebecca, her father, future husband, daughter and more celebrate each night of Chanukah: the festival of lights.

Eight Nights

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 4m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

Eight Nights follows Holocaust survivor Rebecca Blum and her family as they grow and evolve as Americans over the course of eight decades. In their Lower East Side apartment, Rebecca, her father, future husband, daughter and more celebrate each night of Chanukah: the festival of lights. They discuss marriage, friendship, parenthood, immigration and, most touchingly, memory. With each passing year, Rebecca’s continued perseverance inspires her family, ensuring her legacy stretches well beyond the walls of her apartment.

History

The world premiere of Eight Nights was produced by Antaeus Theatre in Glendale, California in October 2019.

Keywords
Performing Groups

REBECCA BLUM – A refugee. White-presenting. Jewish. Ages nineteen to thirties in Nights 1–3. Thin at nineteen. Actress also plays Amy (fourteen, twenties, thirties) in Nights 4–6, Nina (nineteen, thirties) in Nights 7–8, and Anna in Night 8.
ERICH BLUM – Rebecca’s father. White-presenting. Jewish. Forties to sixties. Actor also plays Joram (forty) in Night 8.
ANNA BLUM – Rebecca’s mother. No longer alive. White-presenting. Jewish. Actress also plays Rebecca (forty-eight to eighties) in Nights 4–8.
AARON – Rebecca’s husband. White-presenting. Jewish. Twenty-five to fifties.
BENJAMIN – African American. Forties to sixties. Actor also plays Matt in Night 6.
ARLENE – African American. Thirty-eight to fifty-two. Actress also plays Lacey (twenties) in Night 7.
STEVEN – Half Japanese, half white. Born and raised in the US. Twenties. Actor also plays Inge in Night 6.

  • Time Period Contemporary, New Millennium/21st Century, 1990s, 1980s, 1970s, 1960s, 1950s, 1940s/WWII
  • Setting

    A Lower East Side apartment. December 15, 1949 to December 31, 2016.

  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes, Period Costumes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 90 minutes

Media

“Eight Nights will make you laugh, make you cry, make you think.” – Stage Scene LA

“This is very much a story about family that sustains us, drives us to survive, to love and even to pay forward our blessings with sympathy, empathy and generosity. It’s also about the complicated process of healing. It may not be possible to keep dry eyes to the end.”  – Encore Michigan

“[Rebecca’s] journey of recovery and renewal offers a deeply personal window into the refugee experience and its generational repercussions in Jennifer Maisel’s insightful and moving new play.”  – Los Angeles Times

“Eight Nights will make you laugh, make you cry, make you think, make you feel, make you stand up and cheer.” – Stage Scene LA

Videos

  • Conversations from the Alcove – Lucille Lortel Theatre with Jennifer Maisel youtube thumbnail

    Conversations from the Alcove – Lucille Lortel Theatre with Jennifer Maisel

  • Eight Nights at the Detroit Public Theatre – One Detroit Featurette youtube thumbnail

    Eight Nights at the Detroit Public Theatre – One Detroit Featurette

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £85 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Jennifer Maisel

Jennifer Maisel
Known for her thought-provoking dramas about the transcendency of human connection and identity, Jennifer Maisel’s plays have been produced nationally and internationally.? The Last Seder premiered Off-Broadway with Gaby Hoffmann and Greg Mullavey after productions around the ...
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