Columnist Randy Cohen's Play Opens Off Broadway in January

By: E&P Staff Columnist Randy Cohen, who writes "On Ethics" for Universal Press Syndicate, will have two off-Broadway performances of his play "The Punishing Blow: An Illustrated Lecture Delivered by Order of the Orange County Criminal Court," on Jan. 7 and 8 at the Goldman-Sonnenfeldt Auditorium in New York. Showtime is 8 p.m.

The story?s protagonist is an arrested, tried, and convicted college professor who can stay out of jail if he enters rehab for his drinking, undergoes treatment for anger management, and gives a public lecture ? hence this play ? about one person of his choosing from a list of The 100 Most Influential Jews of All Time.

Playwright Cohen won four Emmys for his work as a writer for "Late Night with David Letterman," "TV Nation" and "The Rosie O'Donnell Show." His weekly column "The Ethicist" runs in the Sunday New York Times Magazine.

Seth Duerr directs and stars in the play, which had its world premiere at the Woodstock Fringe Festival this summer. He will join Cohen for a post-performance Q&A.