L'Dor v'Dor

by Lojo Simon

Non-linear and multi-generational storytelling dominate this family dramatic comedy, which explores assimilation, identity and what we inherit from the generations who have gone before us though the story of one ordinary American family on the morning of their daughter’s bat mitzvah.

Non-linear and multi-generational storytelling dominate this family dramatic comedy, which explores assimilation, identity and what we inherit from the generations who have gone before us though the story of one ordinary American family on the morning of their daughter’s bat mitzvah.

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L'Dor v'Dor

Recommended by

  • Jewish Plays Project: L'Dor v'Dor by Lojo Simon
    “

    Jewish Plays Project congratulates L'DOR V'DOR for receiving our COMMENDED status for the 15th National Jewish Playwriting Contest in 2025. Commended plays received strong advocacy for consideration through our signature Jewish Artistic Democracy community reading process out of the 315+ plays we received. Our readers appreciated in this newly revised version of a 3-part play, we are taken through generations through the eyes of bi-racial bat mitvah Sarah, digging into family secrets & history.

    Jewish Plays Project congratulates L'DOR V'DOR for receiving our COMMENDED status for the 15th National Jewish Playwriting Contest in 2025. Commended plays received strong advocacy for consideration through our signature Jewish Artistic Democracy community reading process out of the 315+ plays we received. Our readers appreciated in this newly revised version of a 3-part play, we are taken through generations through the eyes of bi-racial bat mitvah Sarah, digging into family secrets & history.

    ”
  • Jewish Plays Project: L'Dor v'Dor by Lojo Simon
    “

    The Jewish Plays Project recommends L'DOR v'DOR as a Semi-Finalist for the 11th annual Jewish Playwriting Contest. Our community of readers highly enjoyed how this play vocalized the inner struggles of a biracial Jewish multi-generation family in a way that feels fresh and different. This play asks:'what can be gleaned from past generations as we move forward with our lives?' and addresses the difficulty in moving forward. L'DOR v'DOR rose to the top 20 out of 250 plays and we hope this play swiftly finds opportunities to reach new audiences.

    The Jewish Plays Project recommends L'DOR v'DOR as a Semi-Finalist for the 11th annual Jewish Playwriting Contest. Our community of readers highly enjoyed how this play vocalized the inner struggles of a biracial Jewish multi-generation family in a way that feels fresh and different. This play asks:'what can be gleaned from past generations as we move forward with our lives?' and addresses the difficulty in moving forward. L'DOR v'DOR rose to the top 20 out of 250 plays and we hope this play swiftly finds opportunities to reach new audiences.

    ”
  • Cheryl Bear: L'Dor v'Dor by Lojo Simon
    “

    A moving look at all that has come before and how we move forward in a continual fight against facism and racism for a more just world. Well done.

    A moving look at all that has come before and how we move forward in a continual fight against facism and racism for a more just world. Well done.

    ”
Generation 1
Joe “Abba” Roberts, 75, Jewish widower, son of Jewish immigrant who arrived in the US in
advance of the Holocaust, retired physician, suffers from Parkinson’s and mild dementia
Ina Roberts, elderly female, a spirit or imagination, Joe’s deceased wife, Michael’s
mother, Sarah’s grandmother
Nat Washington, 18, Black male, Lorraine’s husband, Zora’s father, Sarah’s grandfather,
from Natchez, Mississippi
Lorraine Berger Washington, 75, Jewish female, widow of Nat Washington, Zora’s mother,
Sarah’s grandmother, retired teacher, subtle Virginia accent
Generation 2
Michael Roberts, 45, Jewish son of Joe and Ina Roberts, married to Zora Washington-
Roberts, works in commercial real estate
Zora Washington-Roberts, 43, biracial, identifies as Black and Jewish, daughter of Black
father and White Jewish mother, married to Michael Roberts, teaches African American
history at a small college
Generation 3
Sarah Washington-Roberts, 13, biracial female, identifies as biracial and Jewish,
daughter of Zora Washington-Roberts and Michael Roberts, granddaughter of Joe and Ina
Roberts and Lorraine Berger Washington and Nat Washington
Others
Cantor Marcia, late 40s, progressive, big-hearted Reform cantor
Young Lorraine Berger, 17
Jack Berger, late 40s Jewish male, Lorraine’s father
Lillian Laub, elderly Jewish female of Natchez, MS, originally from New Mexico but has
acquired a soft Mississippi accent
Pearla Washington, 40s Black female, Nat’s aunt, from Natchez, Mississippi
Thelma Hill, 25, Black female, SNCC volunteer coordinator, from Jackson, Mississippi
Will, 20s, Black gay male, Thelma’s grandson, from Chicago
Volunteer #1
Volunteer #2
Bus Passenger #1
Bus Passenger #2

Development History

  • Reading, Bare Bones Playreading Series, 2022

Awards