“Cousin Bella -- The Whore of Minsk” recounts the life of prize-winning playwright Sherman Yellen’s immigrant relative, who as a young Jewish woman in Russia was sold into prostitution, rescued by the author’s indomitable grandmother, and immigrated to America where the most extraordinary drama of her life was yet to unfold. Bella, a childless woman, driven to acts of deception by her desperate love for another woman’s child, recounted her life to the author in her last years; a story confirmed by the author’s family. A gripping tale of a fierce love that led to child theft, incest, disgrace, and ultimately survival, “Cousin Bella” presents a vivid portrait of immigrant life in the first part of the 20th Century; a story where truth is both stranger and more astonishing than any fiction. Sherman Yellen's holiday classic "A Christmas Lilly" is included as a bonus feature.
Playwright, librettist, screenwriter and lyricist, Sherman Yellen was nominated for a Tony Award for his book for “The Rothschilds,” with a score by “Fiddler on the Roof” songwriters Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. Yellen’s musical version of “Treasure Island” was winner of the Broadway World Best Regional Musical Award (2012). Among his many theater works was his satirical sketch “Delicious Indignities” in the erotic revue “Oh! Calcutta!” He was also librettist and lyricist for “Josephine Tonight,” an original musical about the early life of Josephine Baker, which The Chicago Sun-Times called “a shining new musical” – and one which the DC press praised for being “so hot that it sizzles.” A London production is in the offing. Sherman’s straight dramas include “December Fools” and “Strangers” produced on and off-Broadway. His teleplays have won him two Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award, first for his writing in the PBS series “The Adams Chronicles,” and later for “An Early Frost” on NBC, as well as an Emmy Nomination for his Hallmark Hall of Fame version of “Beauty and the Beast” starring George C. Scott.
In recent years he has devoted much of his work to the soon to be published memoir “Spotless,” a recreation of his memorable New York childhood in the 1940s. He has received awards in Arts and Letters from Bard College, and is a frequent contributor of essays on the arts, literature, and politics to online publications. Sherman is married, the father of two sons, Nicholas and Christopher, and is proudest of being Pop-Pop to three small and much loved granddaughters. He has lived in London and Los Angeles but home was, is, and always will be New York City.
Yellen's short story “A Christmas Lilly” has also been published for Amazon Kindle. Both “A Christmas Lilly” and “Cousin Bella -- The Whore of Minsk” are available as audiobooks narrated by Robert Armin, available through Amazon, Audible and iTunes.
Playwright, librettist, screenwriter and lyricist, Sherman Yellen was nominated for a Tony Award for his book for “The Rothschilds,” with a score by “Fiddler on the Roof” songwriters Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. Yellen’s musical version of “Treasure Island” was winner of the Broadway World Best Regional Musical Award (2012). Among his many theater works was his satirical sketch “Delicious Indignities” in the erotic revue “Oh! Calcutta!” He was also librettist and lyricist for “Josephine Tonight,” an original musical about the early life of Josephine Baker, which The Chicago Sun-Times called “a shining new musical” – and one which the DC press praised for being “so hot that it sizzles.” A London production is in the offing. Sherman’s straight dramas include “December Fools” and “Strangers” produced on and off-Broadway. His teleplays have won him two Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award, first for his writing in the PBS series “The Adams Chronicles,” and later for “An Early Frost” on NBC, as well as an Emmy Nomination for his Hallmark Hall of Fame version of “Beauty and the Beast” starring George C. Scott.
In recent years he has devoted much of his work to the soon to be published memoir “Spotless,” a recreation of his memorable New York childhood in the 1940s. He has received awards in Arts and Letters from Bard College, and is a frequent contributor of essays on the arts, literature, and politics to online publications. Sherman is married, the father of two sons, Nicholas and Christopher, and is proudest of being Pop-Pop to three small and much loved granddaughters. He has lived in London and Los Angeles but home was, is, and always will be New York City.
Yellen's short story “A Christmas Lilly” has also been published for Amazon Kindle. Both “A Christmas Lilly” and “Cousin Bella -- The Whore of Minsk” are available as audiobooks narrated by Robert Armin, available through Amazon, Audible and iTunes.
