Who Played Bessie Berger in Awake and Sing!

Bessie Berger is a role in Awake and Sing!, a play that opened Broadway in 2026.

The play, set in The Bronx during the depression, centers on the conflicts of an impoverished Jewish family. The parents manipulate the children to their own ends while the children fight to gain control of their dreams. The play's message still comes across loud and clear during the current economic upheaval whose ramifications have been called hauntingly similar to those of the Great Depression. First premiering on Broadway in 1935 and produced by the legendary Group Theatre, the original production sported such names in the cast as Stella Adler, John Garfield, Luther Adler, and Sanford Meisner; directed by Harold Clurman. Ms. James' production features its own distinguished names: J.B. Alexander, Athena Colon, Ashton Crosby, Rick Grossman, Morgan Hooper, Irene Hourigan, William B. McAndrews, Andrew Rothkin, and Alan Smith.