JL;DR

The friendship between Albert Einstein and Marian Anderson began in 1937 under challenging circumstances rooted in racial discrimination. When Anderson, a celebrated African-American singer, was denied a hotel room in Princeton, she found hospitality in the home of the Jewish physicist, Einstein. Their bond deepened over shared experiences of discrimination, culminating in Anderson's historic performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 after being denied the stage at Constitution Hall due to her race. Deborah Brevoort's play, "My Lord, What a Night," creatively explores the dialogues that might have occurred between them, tackling themes of racial discrimination and antisemitism. A conversation featuring Brevoort, director Sheldon Epps, and Nadine Epstein delves into how this friendship underscores broader relations between Black and Jewish communities.