well act drama base on a novel by arthur miller . something as simple a a pair of glass becomes life alter . lawrence newman ( william h. macy ) be a man that have choose to be satisfy with his mundane life while the same job for twenty year and still live with his mother . he be tell by his bos to correct his vision with a pair of glass . newman life drastically change and delve him into hell . the glass he choose make him look jewish . he loose his job and become the object of heavy scrutiny by his brooklyn neighborhood . search for a job and he encounter the attractive and outspoken gertrude ( laura dern ) and herself live with conflict because of her jewish appearance . soon the couple new life together become a nightmare fill with humiliation and bigotry driven attack . a very apt cast that feature represent joseph ziegler and peter oldring and kay hawtrey and of musical fame and meat loaf .