Props and Effects Required

(Effects shown in red)

Overture

 120 to 180 slides of New York (furnished)

  • a slide projector
  • a white background (screen) for displaying slides

 The Synagogue

 3 dining tables

  • 10 or more folding chairs
  • a mockup of an oven
  • a bookcase
  • Jewish prayerbooks and other Jewish books 
  • in the bookcase
  • a lectern
  • several prayer shawls (tallises)
  • a holy ark (to hold Torah scrolls)
  • a small, collapsible telescope
  • a magnifying glass
  • a prism
  • a cassette player
  • a black & white portrait photo of a stern-faced, bearded rabbi, with a beard and a formal hat; a well-concealed arc must be cut along his lips so that an unseen stagehand can make the Rebbe’s scowl become a smile in the final scene.
  • disposable foodware (Styrofoam cups, plastic 
  • dinnerware, napkins, et al.)
  • food suitable for a Friday night meal
  • potato latkes and applesauce
  • vodka glasses (“shot” glasses)
  • 2 trash bags, full of used paper plates, plastic 
  • dinnerware, and food
  • a window(s) by the door
  • a large bag (for Rachel in Act II, Scene 7)
  • pulleys to help lift Reuven in his chair (“Eight Weeks / A World of Many Colors”)

Rachel’s Kitchen (Act 1, Scene 1 only)

  • groceries in bags
  • an unopened box of catfood
  • an answering machine
  • 2 plates for cat food
  • drinking bowl(s) for cats
  • kitchen cabinets
  • other kitchen amenities or mockups thereof (sink, oven, refrigerator, microwave oven, et al.)
  • a stepstool (for “Hineni!”)

Jewish Student Union

  • a lectern
  • a chalk board, with several chalk sticks and eraser
  • 16 folding or nonfolding chairs
  • bookcase(s) with books of Jewish interest
  • wall posters of interest to Jewish students 
  • wall art of Jewish interest
  • a thin leather satchel (Rabbi Brauer’s)
  • 2 or 3 cellular phones (real or faux)
  • a clipboard (for Rabbi Brauer’s attendance list)
  • stacks of one-page handouts (for various scenes)
  • pulleys to lift Rachel in her chair (“Marriage At 
  • Work”)

The Office

  • 2 desks (30 by 60 inches or larger)
  • 2 office chairs
  • 1 guest chair
  • 2 personal computers, with mice, mouse pads, signal cables, power cords, et al.
  • mockups of 2 large (17- or 21-inch) computer monitors, with signal cables and power cords attached for authenticity
  • colorful art on the walls, framed
  • a mockup of a large color printer
  • long work table for printer, cutting, et al.
  • a small fax machine
  • telephones (one on each desk)
  • a cordless phone
  • a coffee table
  • coffee urn
  • tea, in bags
  • sugar cubes, in a bowl
  • other coffee supplies
  • a colored strobe inside Reuven’s color monitor 
  • (“A World of Many Colors”)
  • a clear glass casserole dish (for “When I Was 
  • One”)
  • a pair of multimedia speakers flanking Reuven’s computer (for “Something Strange”)
  • a large dictionary (Reuven’s)
  • a professional-looking camera (Burt’s) suitable for industrial photography
  • a large camera bag
  • a photo portfolio (Burt’s)
  • an art portfolio (Rachel’s)
  • a briefcase (Reuven’s)
  • one or more purses (Rachel’s)
  • a carrot kugel in a clear casserole holder
  • mist or smoke (“Something Strange”)
  • for “Marriage Is Work—II,” provided anew each performance:
    • a stiff paper plate
    • a partially eaten fish fillet
    • a Dixie cup, weighted inside with a glued or taped coin