-Neal Ruchman's-
The Pickpocket's Daughter
The Back Story
When I was a kid, I was introduced to an exciting and mysterious man, known simply as Jack. I thought he was my grandfather. He wasn’t. He did, however, save the lives of my grandmother and mother.
I used to ask my mom “What does Jack do?” I never got an answer. When I was 40 and my mom was 68, we were having a four martini lunch (one for me, three for her) at the U.N. Dining Room. I asked again. She made me swear that I would never tell a soul.
I kept the secret for over twenty years.
At age 89 she said to me, "You know, If I ever wrote my life’s story, I’d call it Pickpocket’s Daughter.”
This play is about my Mom, Harriett Moses. Matzy.
In the New York City of the 1930s, Jewish and Irish gangs fought for control of the city. Matzy was a tough, clever, and funny woman. Jack nick-named her Matzy due to her love of Matzoh. She died before she ever got to write her story.
So I wrote it for her.
