Three characters struggle …

Three characters struggle …

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Three characters struggle with identity crisis in three different stories; one after a life lived, one on the brink of adulthood and one just beginning life on this week’s Stories on Stage.

The first story is author James Thurber’s classic, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” in which an ostensibly mild-mannered and hen-pecked husband is leading something of a double life. The story was presented as part of the 2004 live performace of, It’s Just Your Imagination, a program about people living in a world of their own creation. Reading by Larry Neumann, Jr. and directed by Abigal Dresser.

The second story, “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities,” by Delmore Schwartz, was presented as part of I’m a Stranger Here Myself, a program about estrangement and homecoming, directed by Edward Sobel and presented for the Nextbook Writers Series, which promotes Jewish literature and culture. Marc Grapey reads.

The third story, “The New World,” offers an unusual narrator with an unusual perspective. The story was written by Esther Singer Kreitman, the sister of author Isaac Bashevis Singer. Despite a Hasidic upbringing, which discouraged her literary talents around the turn of the century, the Polish-born Kreitman became a noted yiddish novelist, storyteller and translator. The story was also presented as part of the Nextbook program. Hannah Dworkin reads.

Theme Music: “Nomad” by Strunz & Farah

This program was originally presented as part of the 2004 live season of Stories on Stage at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art.

The 2007 live season is now on stage at Steppenwolf Theatre.