Did You Know..
When he said, "I want to name a the-
ater for you," it came as a complete
shock — even more than winning the
Pulitzer Prize.
I guess that's because it's there forev-
er, and to name a theater after a living
playwright doesn't usually happen. It
was astounding to me. When I am in
New York, I still drive by and take a
look up at my name and am thrilled.
JN: Back to your book. In The Play
Goes On, you tell about how Bob
Hope and Bing Crosby were suggest-
ed as the leads in the movie version
of The Sunshine Boys. But for you,
Hope and Crosby didn't fit the char-
acters. Why?
NS: I wrote the piece knowing these
characters were originally from
Europe — like from Russia or
Poland. The people I was writing
about were Smith and Dale, a great
old vaudeville team. They were
Jewish, and everything about them
was Jewish and I wrote in that style.
To do it for Hope and Crosby, I
would have had to rewrite it com-
pletely. As it turns out, George Burns
and Walter Matthau were perfect. It
would not have been that way with
Hope and Crosby. They are wonder-
ful comedians, but they would not
have been right for the parts.
JN: In your book you talk about
being called "Jew boy" in the
Army. Have you faced any anti-
Semitism in your career?
NS: No. People in the arts don't face
it that much. I never was aware of it
growing up in New York. I never saw
bigotry until I got down South in the
Army, and then I experienced anti-
Semitism and saw a lot of racism. I
was happy to return to New York.
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JN: How has Judaism impacted
your life and work?
NS: Some plays are very much
about a Jewish family, like Brighton
Beach Memoirs and Broadway
Bound. You are impacted by your
religion and your faith as much as
you are by your parents and broth-
ers. I feel Jewish in a cultural way
instead of a religious way.
Moments
JN: Will there be a third memoir?
NS: No. Two memoirs were enough
for me. The hardest part is going on a
book tour, and it's very wearing for
me. I don't want to go through that
again. I am a private person and like
being at home with my family. I think
I'll live the rest of my life out without
writing about my later years. 1-1
serigraph
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12/10,
1999
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