Clever Rachel

Set in a Jewish community in 19th-century Poland and based on a medieval Jewish folktale, the play asks the question, "Can girls be as smart as boys?" Rachel lives with her family in their small bakery and inn and has acquired a reputation as a clever girl who can figure out answers to the most challenging riddles. But the traditional roles of men and women don't allow for women to be intellectuals. Her father believes in her and brags about her skills; her mother is afraid to tempt fate by praising her daughter; and her younger brother just wants to play. A series of visitors (all played by the same actress) take advantage of her wisdom, but things come to a head when Jacob, the smartest boy in town, challenges her to a contest of wits. Somehow they both win and find something that neither had before—a friend.