Grand Union by Jerry Slaff

What happens when the small town you grew up in slowly changes right before your eyes? When the trains no longer stop, when the downtown stores shutter, and when the people you never really noticed now want respect?

Darlene, the Birnbaum family’s longtime African-American housekeeper, has been invited to one last lunch by the son and daughter of Ben, the leader of the town’s small Jewish...
What happens when the small town you grew up in slowly changes right before your eyes? When the trains no longer stop, when the downtown stores shutter, and when the people you never really noticed now want respect?

Darlene, the Birnbaum family’s longtime African-American housekeeper, has been invited to one last lunch by the son and daughter of Ben, the leader of the town’s small Jewish community, to give her a few mementos as they clean out his house, the largest in town, after his recent death. Darlene’s husband, Sam, had worked in Ben’s downtown clothing store for years, and bought it when Ben retired, just as times were getting rough. When their bookish and sheltered son, Dwayne, returns to town, his bright athletic future at Penn State dashed by gunfire, anger finally flashes and old debts are repaid, as the play comes to a startling conclusion.

A drama with generous humor, Grand Union traces 40 years in a small central Pennsylvania railroad town, going back and forth in time, from the town’s heyday to its hardscrabble present.
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Grand Union

Recommended by

  • Ally Varitek:
    5 Jun. 2023
    “ This is for a thoughtful crowd, someone who wants to see theatre working through thoughts and memories that they themselves may be working through, too. I really enjoyed my time with this play because of my own feelings of being lost or disheartened in today’s day. This idea of lives not being our own feels like a very personal exploration of the consequences of systemic injustices in terms of both race and economic status in this instance. I find it left a strong impression on me for hours after reading the play. #BAPF46 ”

Character Information

All of the characters are seen at different ages in different scenes but should be played by the same actor. For instance, the actor who plays Joan should play her at all her ages. There should be no “Young Joan” or “Older Joan.”

  • TOM
    from 10 to 45,
    White, Jewish
    ,
    Male
    Ben’s son and Joan’s brother
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • SAM
    25 and 50,
    African American / Black
    ,
    Male
    Ben’s shop assistant and later Darlene’s husband and Dwayne’s father
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • RABBI MIKE Taub
    25 and 55,
    White, Jewish
    ,
    Male
    homegrown spiritual leader of the town’s small Jewish community
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • JOAN
    from 15 to 55,
    White, Jewish
    ,
    Female
    Ben’s daughter and Tom’s sister
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • DWAYNE
    from 9 to 24,
    African American / Black
    ,
    Male
    Darlene and Sam’s son
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • DARLENE
    from 20 to 60,
    African American/Black
    ,
    Female
    Ben’s long-time housekeeper, substitute mother to Tom and especially to Joan, Sam’s wife and Dwayne’s mother
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • BEN
    from 55 to 88,
    White, Jewish
    ,
    Male
    patriarch of the Birnbaum family
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Male