←Recommendations of The Replacement

Would that it were this easy. Mr. Norkin's short play strikes a dangerous yet hopeful tone in a struggle deep and unfathomable. Maybe peace and humor are the ways to enlightenment--but you'll need a brave bubbe like Sylvia to make it happen!

Norkin's play is a window into the absurdity. Yes. Truly this is the exact scenario white nationalists fear. It's a hoot that turns quite serious, resulting in an experience that is simultaneously hilarious and sobering, ridiculous and tender, but perhaps above all, hopeful. Maybe there is some way to get through. Because education and empathy reveal all. It's not a fear of replacement as it is their own demise or perceived place in the universe. Sooner or later, we will all be replaced. What truly matters is how we treat our fellow travelers along the way.

The concept for this hilarious little play is brilliant. What if a "Jew-will-not-replace-us" white supremacist believes he is literally being replaced by a feisty Jewish lady armed with--what else?--a "portable Jewish space laser"? Sometimes the best defense is to hit your opponent in the funny bone and in "The Replacement" Norkin hits his target perfectly. Very highly recommended.

Wow Morey, well done! I loved having one of these fearful morons get their comeuppance, but in a way that isn't violent or revenge-filled. The idea that someone would step up to the plate as an actual replacement is hilarious on the face of it, but the way in which it was executed was so appropriate. Sylvia basically gave Cliff what he wanted, the proof of his words, just not in the way he wanted it. And having the next generation actually step up to ask their own questions was heartening. If only it could always go this way.

From the moment I read the character descriptions I knew I was in for a piece that would grab my attention and it most certainly did. Its a great tale of comeuppance as his fears of being 'replaced' are realised, but not in a way you expect. That's what makes this a truly brilliant piece, the piece opens with you, as the reader expecting one thing and quickly having your expectations turned on their head. Very well constructed with deliberate misdirection.