The Mashuganas

by Yechezkel Zach Greenberger

THE MASHUGANAS follows YEHUDAH SCHMUKLER, a single 31-year-old Lakewood yeshiva bochur whose religio-cultural foundations are shaken by his perpetually disconnected, apathetic, misunderstood experiences in trying to find a shidduch (wife). Yehudah is already disillusioned at the start of the play - a hundred matches and not one "match" - and his disillusionment becomes more desperate and pronounced as he...

THE MASHUGANAS follows YEHUDAH SCHMUKLER, a single 31-year-old Lakewood yeshiva bochur whose religio-cultural foundations are shaken by his perpetually disconnected, apathetic, misunderstood experiences in trying to find a shidduch (wife). Yehudah is already disillusioned at the start of the play - a hundred matches and not one "match" - and his disillusionment becomes more desperate and pronounced as he encounters the "final bosses" of the Orthodox Jewish matchmaking world. Specialized matchmakers, wizened rabbis, everyone urgently trying to figure out how to get Yehudah married.

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The Mashuganas

Character Information

All four "love interests" (Sarala, Shira, Avigail, Hannah) should be played by the same actor.
Eddy can be played by the same actor who plays Nesanel or Rabbi Groener.
  • Yehudah
    Yehudah is 31 in age only. Because of his family and community's singular mission to get him married (most boys are wed by ages 21-24) he's been in a kind of limbo, unable to move on with his life, unable to shed the pitiful notion of being an "older single." All the frustration, the lack of agency, all of it has been building up since he went on his first date all those years ago. On a bad day, he's a desperate, unseen, lonely fellow. On a good day, he's curious, truth-seeking, and open-minded.
    31
    White,
    Ashkenazi Jewish
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • Nesanel
    Yehudah's father is a practical man. You could say "repressed" but he doesn't think of it that way. Like he's extremely religious in that he keeps all the laws but he doesn't exactly ooze spirituality. If he oozes anything it's the energetic heaviness of unfelt, unprocessed emotions. There isn't much that can save him from his frustrated fate, but Yehudah finally getting married would certainly help.
    60s
    White,
    Ashkenazi Jewish
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s,
      60s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • Devorah
    Yehudah's mother has been trying her damndest to get Yehudah married for years. In this effort and many others, she's incredibly resilient. Her belief in Hashem is unflappable. She's the kind of woman who organizes Tehillim (Psalms) groups to pray for people she hardly knows. Behind a deep spiritual belief also lies her unacknowledged desire for her family to just be "normal" and fit in to the larger Orthodox community.
    60s
    White,
    Ashkenazi Jewish
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s,
      60s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Mrs. Malinowitz
    A classic shadchen yente, would've-been-a-gossip-columnist if she wasn't religious and knew there was such a career. Prides herself on being very straight-forward. Knows exactly who's dating who and why and where and how.
    40s
    White,
    Ashkenazi Jewish
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Rebbetzin Scharfman
    A sweet Rebbetzin who adores her husband, her life, and her job as a shadchan. Doesn't have an unkind bone in her body. Genuinely wants every boy or girl she comes across to find the spouse Hashem intended for them.
    60s
    White,
    Ashkenazi Jewish
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      60s,
      70s+
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Rabbi Groener
    Rabbi for lost youth and older singles. His reputation precedes him, any single Orthodox Jew over 25 years old will have heard of Rabbi Groener. He takes his responsibilities seriously. and leads with love and listening. He believes understanding the youth is the "key" to fixing the broken generation.
    50s
    White,
    Ashkenazi Jewish
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s,
      50s,
      60s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • Rabbi Unger
    Rabbi Groener's assistant. A zealot. Cannot stand for the Torah to be disrespected. Has never doubted Hashem once in his entire life. He fears Hashem more than he loves Him and preaches a similar ethic.
    30s
    White,
    Ashkenazi Jewish
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • Shmuel
    Yeshiva student and current roommate with Yehudah. Pretty cool and relaxed for a yeshiva student. Very well-meaning young man. Isn't as shocked by sin as others might be.
    22
    White,
    Ashkenazi Jewish
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • Menashe
    Yeshiva student and current roommate with Yehudah. Pious, intelligent, zealot. Has very little tolerance for being in the presence of sin or religious doubt.
    21
    White,
    Ashkenazi Jewish
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • Sarala
    A single Orthodox Jewish girl. Desperate to get married. Deeply religious. Aware that she may have to compromise to marry but will only go so far.
    20s
    White,
    Ashkenazi Jewish
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Shira
    Single Orthodox Jewish girl. Desperate to get married. She's done her fair amount of personal exploration and "pushing back" against the system in the past, but now she's behaving as though that never happened. That part of her has been broken and put away in this effort to be wed.
    upper-20s
    White,
    Ashkenazi Jewish
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Avigail
    Single but not too hot-and-bothered about it. Spontaneous, authentic, playful. Prioritizes being herself over conforming to the aspects of religion she doesn't understand.
    20s
    White,
    Ashkenazi Jewish
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Hannah
    Bartender. Confident, playful, friendly with the regulars. Probably enjoys dancing in packed basements to very loud music.
    30s
    Any
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female,
      Non-binary
  • Eddy
    Bar regular, and truck driver. Sure of himself, but in a friendly way. Has been married one-too many times but still ready for more.
    50s
    Any
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s,
      50s,
      60s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male

Awards