Great Solo Town

Thomas Babe

Originally written for the Yale Drama School

The play is comprised of two distinctly separate yet interconnected acts, in which a group of high-spirited young people learn first of the shooting, and then the death, of Robert Kennedy. The action begins in a park, where several teenagers - male and female - talk tough; rail against their parents; and experiment with drugs and sex. Their actions seem almost aimless and random on this warm spring night, until the news that Kennedy has been gunned down leaves them stunned - and unable to comprehend the meaning of this awful act. In the second act a young couple go home together, joined by another boy. Sex is on their minds, but they are distracted by the droning TV set which monitors the ebbing life of the mortally wounded Kennedy. When word of his death finally comes their emotions give way at last in a flood of anger and confused bitterness. But, as they reach out to console and somehow reassure each other, the young couple decide that it is love, rather than mere sex, which draws them together. And as the other boy leaves they prepare to go to bed - hopeful of a meaningful and lasting relationship, but also fearful and unsure that this can be possible in a world so filled with sudden violence and mindless destructiveness.