“Teddy Orloff and the Three Onions: A Cooking Spiel” by Les Epstein
Les Epstein’s newest book, “Teddy Orloff and the Three Onions: A Cooking Spiel“, is the third in his book set published by Gnashing Teeth. The other two in the series are Lorenzo by the Ghost Light, and Sleep Cinematic: A Golem’s Quartet.
Teddy Orloff is a baker, whose home and community have been rocked by scarlet fever. His children are stricken and the home under quarantine. As a baker he cannot stay with his family yet he finds a way to slip in at night. Teddy’s wife sends him on a mission to find a perfect onion to make latkes-a certain cure for the fever. Forging into an ice storm, Teddy’s quest grows weird. It is the perfect onion, though, he must acquire, whether it exists or not.
Teddy Orloff is a baker, whose home and community have been rocked by scarlet fever. His children are stricken and the home under quarantine. As a baker he cannot stay with his family yet he finds a way to slip in at night. Teddy’s wife sends him on a mission to find a perfect onion to make latkes-a certain cure for the fever. Forging into an ice storm, Teddy’s quest grows weird. It is the perfect onion, though, he must acquire, whether it exists or not.Les Epstein is a poet, playwright, opera librettist and educator. His work has appeared in journals in the United States, Philippines, India and the U.K., including Slant, The Bacopa Review, Mojave River Review, Clinch Mountain Review, and Jelly Bucket as well as the anthologies Heat the Grease (Gnashing Teeth Publishing) and Pain & Renewal (Vita Brevis Press). His work was honored by the Writers Guild of Gainesville (FL) in 2021 and has been featured in the podcast, “Sunflower Sutras,” broadcast out of Washburn University. His chapbook, “Kip Divided,” appeared from Finishing Line Press in 20222. As a playwright, his work has been staged by such theaters as the Belfast Maskers (Maine), Greenbrier Valley Theater (WV), Stone’s Throw Dinner Theater (Missouri) and the Roy Arias Studio (New York). He contributed libretti for two operas, Barefoot (1997 premiere) and Miss Lucy (2011 premiere). Cyberwit released a collection of his short plays and libretti (Seven) in 2018. Epstein’s bi-lingual collaboration with Claudia de Franko, Llorona of the River is available through Silver Birchington Plays. He received undergraduate degrees in Theater Performance and English from Otterbein College, and MA in English from Miami (Ohio) University and continued with studies in Literature at New York University and in Theater Education at The Ohio State University. He completed his teacher training at Mary Baldwin College. In addition to work with theater, opera and ballet companies from North Carolina to New York City, he spent ten seasons as Education Director and Production Coordinator for Opera/Columbus and another seven as Executive Director for the Children’s Theater of Winston-Salem before settling in as a teacher with Community High School for which he has staged more than forty productions.
The Squitty Flange
Fête Le Démon Vert is a roaming, spooky and slightly absurd evening of dinner, drinking, dancing and a little bit of discotheque. It featured the terrifying visuals + installation by the notorious 
