Joseph Stein

JOSEPH STEIN (1912-2010) was an American playwright born in New York City and raised in the Bronx. He is best known for writing the books for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musicals FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (1964) and ZORBA (1968). He earned a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University in 1937. After working for more than a decade as a psychiatric social worker who wrote comedy sketches on the side, Stein co-authored a book with Will Glickman that offered one of the first depictions of an Amish community; the book became the Broadway musical PLAIN AND FANCY (1955). Other Broadway credits include MR. WONDERFUL (1956), JUNO (1959) and RAGS (1986). Stein has been honored with lifetime achievement awards by The Dramatists Guild of America and the York Theatre Company, and he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2008.