A Serious Man

Roles

• Second Rabbi - Adult (36-50), Senior (>50), Male

About this piece

The Second Rabbi tells Larry Gopnik the story of the goy's teeth

Summary

Set in 1967 in Minnesota, the story centers on Physics professor Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg). When his wife Judith (Sari Lennick) decides to leave him for another man, Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed), that she considers "a serious man", Larry's life begins to get out of control. On top of that he has to deal with his unemployed brother (Richard Kind) who sleeps on his couch, his out-of-control son (Aaron Wolff) who gets always into trouble at Hebrew school and his daughter (Jessica McManus) whose only preoccupation is to get money for a nose job. When struggling to find balance and peace in his life, Larry seeks the advice of three different eccentric rabbis. After Sy Ableman dies in a freaky car accident and he is forced to pay for his funeral, Larry goes to see the Second Rabbi. In order to comfort him, the Second Rabbi tells Larry the weird story of the "goy's teeth". Lee Sussman, an orthodontist, one day finds some signs engraved in a patient's lower incisors. Those signs read "Help me. Save me". Until he can find the meaning of those words, Lee Sussman can't go on with his life. After much search he ends up in the very same chair Larry is sitting on at the moment....what is the meaning of it?

Tone

Use cases