For the men writing and directing female roles on Broadway, an exercise in empathy

A pivotal moment pauses a boisterous cocktail hour in the second act of Oslo, the new Tony-nominated play chronicling behind-the-scenes moments in international diplomacy. The unusual scene occurs when a group of men from both Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization fall silent to salute the one woman in the room. As they raise their glasses, they say, “To Mona. Without her, we are nothing.”