when Joel Grey made Cabaret i bet he wasn’t thinking too hard 

about his 12-year-old daughter at home 

who, 15-years-later, would look jewish at all

dancing with the perfect goyishe specimen

on the same stage where Joel met the monkey.

because if you could see her through my eyes you’d see her foot turns out slightly

when she sees him coming, like she’s ready to run,

or be spun! 

it’s not something Joel Grey thought he really had to worry about

working long days on set with Bob and Liza and whoever was in the gorilla costume

come to think about it, he never asked ? he just assumed it didn’t matter

he’d didn’t think about Jennifer when he whispered that last line, imperceptibly proud, 

but he hoped she wouldn’t be so anonymous. tomorrow belonged to her

so the first time Jennifer Grey heard she’d had the time of her life, she looked around, and up 

eyes wide, because she really had ????? all while Dancing Dirty

even though they didn’t really get along and he got upset when she laughed 

(and she couldn’t stop laughing. she was giddy and yiddy and fair)

she called her dad and told him about spinning around the person two times her size

she said the air 8-feet-up was sweeter than the air she knew on the ground 

and he recognized her! the logical conclusion of an illogical pattern 

but a break with the family tradition of being the tinier partner



Sarah Jae Leiber is a screenwriter/playwright/essayist/funny person from Philadelphia. She’s the entertainment editor at BroadwayWorld with bylines at Bitch, The Niche, The Broadway Beat, and more. Her dramedy pilot, “Hearts and Bones,” was a semifinalist in the 2021 ScreenCraft TV Pilot Competition. Follow her on Twitter @sarahjaeleiber.