"Mishkin's Paradise," Fred Feldman's play in two acts, is a striking drama of miscarried hope and the extremes of the American dream. It is a universal tale of family conflict and recovery.

There is a little of the fallen hero, Leon Mishkin, in each and every one of us. Mishkin goes through life making hard choices that affect his business, family, and emotional well-being. He is recalled by his only son, Arnie, now a grown man, and the head of the business Leon so painstaking worked to build. Arnie returns to his birth place on the Lower East Side of New York to reconnect with his roots. What he finds is the reality of his difficult childhood experiences with a tough, hard-driving father and deceased mother, Esther.

The lengths to which Leon goes to fulfill his career goals is evidenced by his cousin and building superintendent, Morris Lewis. Morris is the dark side of Leon's moon. He unlocks the secret of Leon Mishkin's questionable deals that doomed his family.

Fred Feldman's first novel, "The Moon Canopy, " is a vivid portrayal of life in SOHO during the early 1970s. An inviting studio apartment on Chrystie Street attracts an offbeat artist named Geronimo Sabat and a middle class Jewish gallery girl.

Sabat, without a penny to his name, declares himself renter of the apartment. Along the way, he begins an off-kilter courtship with Leah, an aspiring artist in her own right. Their love affair blossoms under the weary eye of Saltzman, owner of the building and unwanted father figure to Leah.

As time passes, their love raises many questions about art, life, race, class, and coming of age.

This book is a modern-day fable about Licorice, a house cat who get tired of the same old life of mouse-hunting. He goes off on a quest for adventure. The world Licorice sees is far from perfect, so he tries to change it. Follow along as Licorice makes the Earth a better place to live. In addition to a published novel entitled The Moon Canopy, Fred Feldman is the author of the full-length play Mishkin's Paradise and Five, a collection of one-act plays.