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Broken Glass
Written by	Arthur Miller
Date premiered	1994
Place premiered	Booth Theatre New York
Original language	English
Subject	American Jewish assimilation, self-hatred and the European Nazi threat
Genre	Historical drama
Setting	Brooklyn, 1938
IBDB profile

Broken Glass is a 1994 play by Arthur Miller, focusing on a couple in New York City in 1938, the same time of Kristallnacht, in Nazi Germany. The play's title is derived from Kristallnacht, which is also known as the Night of Broken Glass.

Characters

• Sylvia Gellburg
• Phillip Gellburg, Sylvia's Husband
• Dr. Harry Hyman, Doctor of Sylvia Gellburg
• Margaret Hyman, Wife of Dr. Hyman
• Harriet, Sylvia's sister
• Stanton Case, Phillip Gellburg's employer

Plot

Phillip and Sylvia Gellburg are a Jewish married couple living in New York in the last days of November 1938. Phillip works at a Wall Street bank, where he works on foreclosing. Sylvia suddenly becomes partially paralysed from the waist down after reading about the events of Kristallnacht in the newspaper.

Dr. Harry Hyman is contacted by Phillip to try and help Sylvia recover. Dr. Hyman believes that Sylvia's paralysis is psychosomatic, and though he is not a psychiatrist, he begins to treat her according to his diagnosis. Throughout the play, Dr. Hyman learns more about the problems that Sylvia is having in her personal life, particularly in her marriage.

After an argument with his boss, Philip suffers a heart attack and is dying at his home. Phillip and Sylvia confront each other about their feelings. Before Phillip dies (although this is never confirmed), his final words are "Sylvia, forgive me!". Upon his 'death', Sylvia is cured of her paralysis.

Productions

Broken Glass was first staged, and received its world premiere, at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before transferring to the Booth Theatre from April 24, 1994 to June 26 of the same year, totalling 73 performances. The original production was produced by Robert Whitehead, Roger L. Stevens, Lars Schmidt, Spring Sirkin, Terri Childs, and Timothy Childs; and directed by John Tillinger. It received its British premiere at the Royal National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre on August 4, 1994.

Awards and nominations

Awards

• 1995 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play

Nominations

• 1994 Tony Award for Best Play

References

• Miller, Arthur (1994). Broken Glass: A Play (First edition ed.). New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0140480951.  

External links

• Broken Glass at the Internet Broadway Database