For her directorial debut, Barbra Streisand adapted Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story Yentl. Set in the early 1900s in Eastern Europe, Yentl is the story of a young Jewish woman who has to disguise herself as a boy in order to receive an education. Once she is studying among the Orthodox Jewish rabbis, she falls in love with another student; her situation is further complicated when a woman falls in love her. With the help of Michel Legrand and Alan and Marilyn Bergman (who won Academy Awards for their score), Streisand turned Singer's simple story into a full-blown musical, complete with 12 songs.