THE OUTSIDE CHANCE OF MAXIMILIAN GLICK

A timeless gem about a boy choked by parental love. Two men clear his path to independence -- his music teacher and a strange young Hassidic rabbi in old-world garb. He and Max share yearnings of escape -- Max to be a concert pianist, the rabbi to be a stand-up comic.

Morley Torgov has been hailed for his sharply realized characters and his own special comic genius. His short pieces have appeared in the New York Times and are widely anthologized.