Hilary Bluestein-Lyons
Rochester, NY

Plays

by Hilary Bluestein-Lyons

It’s 1952 and we’re in that uniquely Jewish resort area of the Catskill Mountains known as ‘the Borscht Belt’ -- a place renowned for launching the careers of the likes of Henny Youngman, Milton Berle and Woody Allen.  But things aren’t so rosy for Hattie Zelig, a 30-ish stand-up comedienne who’s finding that breaking into this meshugenah boy’s club is like breaking into Fort Knox.  Meanwhile, Hattie’s best friend Lillian is in the same boat, Hattie’s mother is zero help, and her husband, Zeb, is busy playing the field - - all of which adds up to Hattie feeling like she’s at a dead end.  Then she suddenly lands a headliner spot at Gold’s Resort, and the offer of a TV show follows hot on.  The catch?  She’d have to drop everything and move to LA.  Now.  Lillian wants Hattie to grab this once in a lifetime chance, but -- would that life were that simple.  In the end, the dominos fall and Hattie is forced to choose between family and career - - which is no laughing matter.

Cast:
1 M, 3 F
by Hilary Bluestein-Lyons

Call My Dead Wife, is loosely based on the true story of Almon Strowger, inventor of the Automatic Telephone Exchange. The year is 1890, and after the death of his wife, Alice, Almon Strowger, a school principal from Penfield, NY, purchases a mortuary in Kansas City, MO under the care of Susan Simmons. Soon after, Strowger discovers that a sudden decline in business is due to calls being directed to the rival undertaker by his wife, the telephone operator. With the help of his nephew, Walter, a conniving accountant (Joseph Harris) and the accountant’s eccentric wife (Macey Harris), the device is invented, but not without things going terribly awry.

Cast:
3 M, 2 F