Eight Nights
by Jennifer Maisel

Eight Nights Book Cover — Eight Nights Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

90 mins Present Day Unit Set/Multiple Settings Period Costumes

Synopsis

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.

Press Reviews

"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

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Erich Blum Rebecca’s father. White-presenting. Jewish. Forties to sixties. Actor also plays Joram (forty) in Night 8.	male	—	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.	female	—	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.	male	—	Rebecca’s husband. White-presenting. Jewish. Twenty-five to fifties.
Benjamin African American. Forties to sixties. Actor also plays Matt in Night 6.	—	—	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.	female	—	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.	—	—	Half Japanese, half white. Born and raised in the US. Twenties. Actor also plays Inge in Night 6.
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.	female	—	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.