Sarah Blacher Cohen (June 11, 1936 in Appleton,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, – November 10, 2008 in Albany,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) was an American writer, scholar, and playwright, and a professor at

SUNY Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a Public university, public research university with campuses in Albany, New York, Albany, Rensselaer, New York, Rensselae ...

for 30 years. Her area of specialty was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

American fiction. Her published books include ''Comic Relief: Humor in Contemporary American Literature'', ''

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only wr ...

's Enigmatic Laughter'' (1974), and ''

Cynthia Ozick Cynthia Ozick (born April 17, 1928) is an American short story writer, novelist, and essayist. Biography Cynthia Ozick was born in New York City, the second of two children. She moved to the Bronx with her Belarusian-Jewish parents from Hlusk, ...

's Comic Art: From Levity to Liturgy''. She edited ''From Hester Street to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

: The Jewish-American Stage and Screen'' (Jewish Literature and Culture Series), ''Making a Scene: The Contemporary Drama of Jewish-American Women'', and ''Jewish Wry: Essays on Jewish Humor''. Her plays include ''The Ladies Locker Room'', and ''

Molly Picon Molly Picon ( yi, מאָלי פּיקאָן; born Malka Opiekun; February 28, 1898 – April 5, 1992) was an American actress of stage, screen, radio and television, as well as a lyricist and dramatic storyteller. She began her career in Yidd ...

's Return Engagement'', a biographical play with music on the star of Yiddish theater. She collaborated with

Joanne Koch Joanne may refer to: Music * ''Joanne'' (album), 2016 album by Lady Gaga ** "Joanne" (Lady Gaga song), a 2016 song from the album ''Joanne'' * "Joanne" (Michael Nesmith song), a 1970 song from the album ''Magnetic South'' * "Joanne", a song by C ...

, starting in 1989 on ''Sophie, Totie, and Belle'', a musical on performers Sophie Tucker, Totie Fields, and Belle Barth. 'She and Joanne Koch also co-authored the plays ''Danny Kaye: Supreme Court Jester'', ''Soul Sisters'', ''Henrietta Szold: Woman of Valor'', an adaptation of Saul Bellow stories entitled ''Saul Bellow's Stories Onstage: The Old System and a Silver Dish'', and the multicultural musical ''Soul Sisters''. Cohen and Koch co-edited an anthology of ten plays ''Shared Stages: Ten American Dramas of Blacks and Jews'', including ''

Driving Miss Daisy '' Driving Miss Daisy'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on his 1987 play of the same name. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his ...

'', ''Fires in the Mirror'', and ''Soul Sisters''. She collaborated with

Isaac Bashevis Singer Isaac Bashevis Singer ( yi, יצחק באַשעװיס זינגער; November 11, 1903 – July 24, 1991) was a Polish-born American Jewish writer who wrote and published first in Yiddish and later translated himself into English with the help ...

on the off-Broadway play ''Schlemiel the First''. Cohen also gave talks and delivered papers, including "The Unkosher Comediennes: From

Sophie Tucker Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886 – February 9, 1966) was an American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertaine ...

Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona—heavi ...

." Her husband was Gary Cohen. She died of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease on November 10, 2008 age 72.

References

External links

Plays by Joanne Koch & Sarah Blacker

* ttp://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?_r=1&res=9B05EED91539F935A15753C1A962948260&scp=1&sq=sarah%20blacher%20cohen&st=cse&oref=slogin ''New York Times'' review of ''Schlemiel The First''* Ezra Cappell (University of Texas, El Paso) "Sarah Blacher Cohen's Comic Drama of Disability
Jewish Women's Writing of the 1990s and Beyond - Abstract

* ttp://www.bookfinder.com/author/sarah-blacher-cohen/ Bookfinder.com listing of Sarah Blacher Cohen
''Times Union'' obituary notice for Sarah Blacher Cohen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Sarah 1936 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American book editors Neurological disease deaths in New York (state) Writers from Appleton, Wisconsin University at Albany, SUNY faculty American women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers American women academics 21st-century American women