Gary Morgenstein doesn’t shy away from controversial topics that other writers are afraid to touch, nor does he beeline for obvious moneymakers. In his prodigious output of novels and plays, he’s always struck a balance between his passion projects and commercially viable ones. Ultimately, though, Morgenstein’s fierce assertion of his Jewish values, love of Israel, and commitment to grow in Torah and mitzvot dictates his choices.

Perhaps that’s why he doubled down on antisemitism both with his new play, Dancing on Glass, a reading of which debuted at ZOA headquarters on Monday, April 28, and with his candidacy as a delegate to ZOA Slate #15, a coalition of 30 organizations. The voting ended on May 4; the results, which are currently being tabulated, should be finalized by the end of the month. The outcome will determine what monies will be allocated, and to whom, throughout Israel.

According to Elizabeth Berney, national director of research and special projects, ZOA, Slate #15 has prioritized investment in Israel’s security, medical services (hospitals, etc.), construction in the decimated South and Yehuda-Shomron, education and aliyah. Slate #15 includes the Orthodox Chamber of Commerce, a fully Orthodox entity in this coalition, but many Orthodox Jews are also involved in the other ZOA slates. In 2020, Slate #15 comprised just under 10% of ZOA’s representation in the World Zionist Congress (WZC). In addition, it collaborates with like-minded groups in the WZO and helps set policies for others.

Thus, ZOA’s building was an ideal location for a play confronting antisemitism—a prime area of ZOA’s US advocacy.

The New York Premiere of Dancing On Glass Was Well Timed.

The timing of the reading coincided perfectly with Morgenstein’s election bid. Given his renown as a multitalented writer (off-Broadway plays and eight novels, including a baseball trilogy), it was a ZOA audience magnet. Moreover, Dancing on Glass was concurrent with ongoing campus unrest, legal tussles over free speech, and sanctions for institutions that don’t protect their Jewish students.

Dancing on Glass showcases antisemitism and bullying in a private school, where Adam Seitz, a Jewish teacher, is fired for not being “balanced enough” in covering the Middle East. Adam fights back with the help of his left-liberal daughter Estie and Vanessa Bickford, a Black attorney. The plot twists beg a broader question. Can two people. whose families have been victimized, and have significant “baggage,” unite successfully against a system that supports intimidation, bullying, and sweeps its dirty secrets under the rug?

This is what the play’s excellent performers (Jackie Kushner, Monique Berkley, Jacynth Apora, Courtney Everette, Stefani Zamora and Deborah Tranelli) and director Michele Coppolino would have the audience believe. In Dancing with Glass, the cast’s palpable energy and the dynamics of their fractured onstage relationships precariously waver between “Will they or won’t they prevail?” (no spoiler alert, sorry).

Does uniting diverse individuals or groups to advocate for justice in the “real world” really work? Apparently, Morgenstein thinks it does, as evidenced by his decision to run for Slate #15 and his vocal opposition to the cancelation of Jews in the arts. How though, did this transition from secular Bronx Yankee lover to tefillin-wearing political novice and cancelation antagonist occur?

A “Radical” (in a Good Sense) Transformation

The Bronx-born son of secular parents who were politically and socially active, Morgenstein was raised as a “cultural” Jew who lived and breathed baseball and whose heroes were Mantle and the greats of that generation. This wasn’t hard; Yankee Stadium was always in his line of vision. Law made sense in a family that valued social justice. After he was awarded his BA at SUNY Stony Brook, he was admitted to its law school but realized that law was not for him. He yearned for a life as a writer but for 20 years wrote only in his spare time, whiles he worked in PR for U.S. media companies and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). His acclaimed play, A Tomato Can’t Grow in the Bronx, was written in 2011, but only when he left NBC in 2016, did he begin writing nonstop. Many plays followed, as did the last of his dystopian baseball novels, published in 2023. Success, though, didn’t supplant his feeling that epes falt, something was missing, spiritually.

Reconnecting With His Spiritual Self

In 2023, a Chasidic friend introduced Morgenstein to Rabbi Moshe Hecht of Chabad of Windsor Terrace. This prompted him to attend services and Torah classes there, observe Shabbat (He shops on Fridays.) and Yom Tov, and don tefillin daily. This commitment to Torah and his community spurred him to be increasingly outspoken in his writing and public appearances, such as in his talk at Shomrei Torah in 2024, where he assailed the “canceling” of Jewish art/artists.

Morgenstein Bucks the Tide, Raising Awareness of Jews’ Cancelation in the Arts

At Shomrei Torah, Morgenstein noted how Hollywood’s Jewish founders were canceled at LA’s Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. “More than 260 Jewish entertainment figures…signed an open letter… criticizing… excluding Jews as an underrepresented group…” (Sperling NYT, 1/9/24) In correcting this “oversight,” the Museum characterized the founders’ as “tyrant,” “oppressive,” “womanizer” and “predator” (Pogrebin, NYT, 6/10/24); public outrage prompted further Museum changes.

Recently, one theater initially expressed interest in Dancing on Glass. Morgenstein sent the play’s synopsis, and suddenly, last week, he was told that the theater was booked for the entire year. This frequently occurs; perhaps the theater considered Dancing too Jewish to touch.

When you couple Morgenstein’s distaste for this all-too-common retreat from Jewish content with his love of Israel and Jewish faith, it’s easy to understand why he has pivoted to political activism and the ZOA delegate campaign. You’ll never see him do anything half-hearted, nor will he retreat from speaking about subtle and blatant antisemitism—not in his work and not in his world.

There’s a photo of him on Google, sitting in a chair and smiling, that is labeled Gary Morgenstein, and under it is written “public figure.” It’s a great label.

Rachel Kovacs, PhD, adjunct associate professor of communication at CUNY, also teaches Judaics locally, and is a PR professional, freelance writer, and theater reviewer for offoffonline.com. She trained in performance at Brandeis and Manchester Universities, Sharon Playhouse, and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She can be reached at [email protected]