Rose Colored Glass

Set in 1938 Chicago, Rose Colored Glass, takes place in the back rooms of Lady O'Riley's and Rose Fleishman's delicatessen. Their disparate worlds, separated by much more than the alley between their kitchens, are about to collide. Peg O'Riley, the 13-year-old granddaughter of Lady, has grown determined that these two mistrustful widows will become friends, but it is not until they become involved in the same cause that their friendship has a chance to bloom. In a series of flashbacks, Peg now older, remembers the moving story of how Lady and Rose formed a united front to fight American apathy in an attempt to bring Rose's nephew out of Europe before the war. Rose Colored Glass shows the beginning of the Holocaust from the other side of the Atlantic, and how two women struggle not only with American apathy, but also with immigration laws and bureaucracy, in addition to their own prejudices... all in the name of one boy's safe passage from Europe to America.
Format: Full-length play
Cast Size:3F
Running Time: 105 minutes
Character breakdown:

Lady O’Riley—60s, Irish Catholic immigrant; owner of Lady O’Riley’s
Rose Fleishman—late 40s; Austrian Jewish immigrant
Peg O’Riley—13 at the start of the play; Lady’s granddaughter

Snapshot

Original or Prominent Production:
Theatre 54 at Shetler Studios and Theatres, New York, 2007.
Nationality of Author: U.S.
Original Language: English
Publisher:

Samuel French

Production Rights Holder:

Samuel French

Experience(s) Chronicled: European Jewry Before the Holocaust | Escape

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