Meryl Cohn

Meryl Cohn's awards include: Semifinalist (twice) for the O’Neill National Playwriting Award (And Sophie Comes Too and Reasons to Live); The ATHE Jane Chambers Playwriting Award (The Siegels of Montauk); The Eventide Arts Jeremiah Kaplan Award (The Final Say); finalist for the Massachusetts Cultural Council Playwriting Award (Naked With Fruit); Jane Chambers Runner up (The Final Say); Eventide Arts Finalist (The Fade-Away Advantage); Lark Theatre semifinalist; Curve Magazine Lesbian Theatre Award (And Sophie Comes Too).Her play Reasons to Live was voted Favorite Play by The Cape Cod Times.

Meryl’s work has been produced or developed at The Skylight Theatre, The Open Fist Theatre, TOSOS, N.Y. International Fringe Festival, The Fringe Festival Encore Series, The Provincetown Theatre, W.H...

Meryl Cohn's awards include: Semifinalist (twice) for the O’Neill National Playwriting Award (And Sophie Comes Too and Reasons to Live); The ATHE Jane Chambers Playwriting Award (The Siegels of Montauk); The Eventide Arts Jeremiah Kaplan Award (The Final Say); finalist for the Massachusetts Cultural Council Playwriting Award (Naked With Fruit); Jane Chambers Runner up (The Final Say); Eventide Arts Finalist (The Fade-Away Advantage); Lark Theatre semifinalist; Curve Magazine Lesbian Theatre Award (And Sophie Comes Too).Her play Reasons to Live was voted Favorite Play by The Cape Cod Times.

Meryl’s work has been produced or developed at The Skylight Theatre, The Open Fist Theatre, TOSOS, N.Y. International Fringe Festival, The Fringe Festival Encore Series, The Provincetown Theatre, W.H.A.T., The Soho Playhouse, Counter Productions, The Road Theatre, and Smith College, among others.

She earned her MFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She founded the Northampton Playwrights Lab and is a member of TOSOS, and a proud member of the Dramatists Guild. She also writes fiction and non-fiction and is the author of the humor book DO WHAT I SAY: MS. BEHAVIOR’S GUIDE TO GAY AND LESBIAN ETIQUETTE, published by Houghton Mifflin.

Scripts

THE SIEGELS OF MONTAUK

by Meryl Cohn

Synopsis

The three Siegel sisters reunite (with their mother) at the family’s Montauk beach house in the wake of their psychiatrist father’s unexpected death. Oldest sister Wendy, a therapist, is hiding from her clients; Youngest sister Sarah has discovered a dubious way to earn a living; Middle-sister Julie, facing her upcoming college reunion, is desperate to measure up. When the sisters uncover a shocking secret about...

The three Siegel sisters reunite (with their mother) at the family’s Montauk beach house in the wake of their psychiatrist father’s unexpected death. Oldest sister Wendy, a therapist, is hiding from her clients; Youngest sister Sarah has discovered a dubious way to earn a living; Middle-sister Julie, facing her upcoming college reunion, is desperate to measure up. When the sisters uncover a shocking secret about their late father, the weekend get-together ultimately redefines the family.

Reasons to Live

by Meryl Cohn

Synopsis

A family wedding is meant to be a happy occasion, but no one can forget that it's the the family's first get-together since a tragedy occurred.
When Jane’s wedding weekend goes awry, the jilted bride-to-be can’t pull herself up off the floor and is uncertain about whether she wants to “die or just relax.” Her sister, Emily, drags a woman she barely knows to be her buffer for the weekend. Emily’s twin, Andrew...

A family wedding is meant to be a happy occasion, but no one can forget that it's the the family's first get-together since a tragedy occurred.
When Jane’s wedding weekend goes awry, the jilted bride-to-be can’t pull herself up off the floor and is uncertain about whether she wants to “die or just relax.” Her sister, Emily, drags a woman she barely knows to be her buffer for the weekend. Emily’s twin, Andrew, appears to be selling something suspicious from their mother’s house. Stella, their stage-door matriarch, hopes to recreate days long past, when her daughters sang show tunes and her son still needed her. When a surprise arrives at the front door, the family is given an opportunity to find the meaning they’ve been desperately seeking.

AND SOPHIE COMES TOO

by Meryl Cohn

Synopsis

Will Sophie Abramowitz wake from her coma? Her daughters hope not. Barbara fears a medical miracle; Perfect Rose is falling apart; and Sandra is transitioning to manhood. And Sophie Comes Too is a comedy about becoming fully conscious.

Will Sophie Abramowitz wake from her coma? Her daughters hope not. Barbara fears a medical miracle; Perfect Rose is falling apart; and Sandra is transitioning to manhood. And Sophie Comes Too is a comedy about becoming fully conscious.

NAKED WITH FRUIT

by Meryl Cohn

Synopsis

Can three people who share the loss of the same love come together to heal? Isabel and Marilyn mourn the sudden death of the secret third member of their intimate relationship. Isabel’s longing to connect leads her to desperate acts, including bringing home hit-and-run dates and befriending an unwitting Rabbi under false pretenses. Through a tricky road to recovery, the loss of a shared love turns out to be a...

Can three people who share the loss of the same love come together to heal? Isabel and Marilyn mourn the sudden death of the secret third member of their intimate relationship. Isabel’s longing to connect leads her to desperate acts, including bringing home hit-and-run dates and befriending an unwitting Rabbi under false pretenses. Through a tricky road to recovery, the loss of a shared love turns out to be a powerful bond.
NAKED WITH FRUIT is a comedy about grief - and the quest for love and family.

ALMOST HOME

by Meryl Cohn

Synopsis

When Phoebe’s poet partner, Amanda, runs off with a young fan, Phoebe is left with Amanda’s teenage daughter, Jody. While Phoebe confronts her past and tries to launch her photography show, Jody pushes against every boundary she can find. Will the two succeed in their struggle to recreate a family without Amanda? And how will the odd stranger, Raymond, affect each of their lives? Almost Home is a drama/comedy...

When Phoebe’s poet partner, Amanda, runs off with a young fan, Phoebe is left with Amanda’s teenage daughter, Jody. While Phoebe confronts her past and tries to launch her photography show, Jody pushes against every boundary she can find. Will the two succeed in their struggle to recreate a family without Amanda? And how will the odd stranger, Raymond, affect each of their lives? Almost Home is a drama/comedy about redefining relationships -and, the search for a place to belong.

The Final Say

by Meryl Cohn

Synopsis

Naomi might finally get her play about her grandmother’s war heroism produced-- if only "HOLOCAUST SUPERSTAR: THE MUSICAL weren't just about to open. When Naomi learns that the upcoming musical has an oddly similar story line and was written by her former mentor, she must decide how far to go to protect her play and her beloved grandmother’s story. Who owns a story? Can an idea really be stolen? This comedy...

Naomi might finally get her play about her grandmother’s war heroism produced-- if only "HOLOCAUST SUPERSTAR: THE MUSICAL weren't just about to open. When Naomi learns that the upcoming musical has an oddly similar story line and was written by her former mentor, she must decide how far to go to protect her play and her beloved grandmother’s story. Who owns a story? Can an idea really be stolen? This comedy/drama attempts to answer those questions.