Comedy. Michael Cristofer. The scene is the chic New York apartment of Luba, a woman successful
in business but less fortunate in her private life. She is awaiting
a male dinner guest and has engaged a clarinet player to provide
romantic background music. Falling into a reverie, Luba begins to
reminisce about the three men who have meant the most to her in her
life thus far - which leads to a series of intriguing flashbacks.
In the first Luba is sixteen and meets Paul, a young employee of
her father's, who initiates her into the mysteries of sex, but bores
her otherwise. Then comes Jack, a high-powered television producer
who is successful, exciting and funny, but also married to someone
else. Finally there is George, a rich widower who keeps the house
for her but looks elsewhere for love. As the play ends the unanswered
question is whether her new dinner companion will, at last, be "the
man"
she has been searching for - but, as the nonspeaking clarinet player
so eloquently suggests with smiles, shrugs and instrumental trills,
the prospects (measured by the past) are not too promising. Lady Audley's Secret, or Death in Lime Tree Walk. Melodrama.
Brian J. Burton, based on the novel by Mary Braddon Lady Audley has recently married a rich old man and is secure in wealth at last. A visitor from Australia is distraught to find his wife died during his absence. But lo! yet she lives! This same Lady Audley is the wife reported dead. Fearing her ex-husband might upset the apple cart she cracks him on the head and drops his body in the well. Period 1850s Play. Edward Albee. 4 men, 4 women. Interior. Three young couples are playing Twenty Questions. The drinks have
been flowing, so the mood has gone from good to bad in a very short
time. As it happens, the hostess, who has the most abrasive tongue
of all, is dying of cancer, and the party ends when her pain becomes
so intense her husband must carry her to bed. After the stage is
empty, a handsome, mysterious woman, accompanied by an equally handsome
man, enter the house and settle in for the night. In the morning
they are still there to greet the baffled young husband and his ailing
wife when they come down for breakfast. Unruffled by the young couples
questions, the two must also confront the guests of the previous
evening. While claims are accepted that the mysterious woman is the
mother of the dying wife, intriguing inconsistencies remain: Is she,
in truth, the angel of death? In the end there are no neat answers,
but questions raised, and debated, will reverberate in the mind long
after the play itself has ended. Comedy. Luis Santeiro. 3 women. Unit Set In Act I, Mama, an elegant older woman from Cuba, arrives at the
Miami home of her daughter, Marita, with her former maid, Zoila,
in tow as well as a host of misgivings about living in exile in the
United States. As the mother and daughter circle each other warily,
the clash of cultures, generations and character create one confrontation
after another. But there's little doubt that Mama is beginning to
assimilate, even attempting to work the new system as an Avon lady.
Act II opens in a funeral parlor, with three elderly Cuban American
ladies sitting watch over a corpse which is gradually revealed to
be Mama. It is ten years later and, in one of the funniest funeral
scenes ever written, a great deal is revealed about survival and
the amazing, and often comical, resilience of the human spirit. Drama. Henrik Ibsen, translated by Michael Meyer. Set in late summer on a west Norway fjord, this five-act drama relies
principally on subtle character development and a poetically evocative
mood. Ellida, the second wife of Dr. Wangel, is restlessly dissatisfied
with her marriage because she is haunted by a love vow she made to
a sailor years earlier. Fascinated by the sea, she is still waiting
for the mysterious sailor who swore to come back one day and claim
her. When a stranger suddenly appears, Ellida realises that the sailor
has indeed returned. She is torn between her husband and the demonic
spell of this man, who both terrifies and fascinates her. When Dr.
Wangel finally releases her from her marriage vows, allowing her
full freedom of choice, she realises the depth of his love for her
and finds the will to reject the stranger and wholeheartedly accept
her marriage. Kenneth Horne : Comedy 3M 4F Interior set Two unmarried sisters have rented an isolated country house in search of peace and quiet to aid the younger sister's recovery from a recent nervous breakdown. They have hardly arrived before the police come and start digging in the garden for the dismembered body of the wife of the previous tenant who has mysteriously disappeared. Their peace is shattered, the quiet country atmosphere they longed for becomes chaotic and when the husband of the supposed victim turns up in the shape of a very meek and timid little man, the twists and complications which follow lead to hilarious surprises for everyone. Poetic Comedy. Christopher Fry. 8 men, 3 women. Interior. Thomas Mendip, a discharged, soldier, weary of the world and eager
to leave it, comes to a small town, announces he has committed murder,
and demands to be hanged. A philosophical humorist, Thomas is annoyed
when the officials oppose his request, even believing he is not guilty
of the crime he suggests. Shortly afterward, a young woman, Jennet,
is brought before the Mayor for witchcraft, but for some strange
reason she has no wish to be put to death! Thomas tries, in his own
way, to prove to the official how absurd it would be to refuse to
hang a man who wants to be hanged, and at the same time to kill an
attractive woman who is not only guiltless, but doesn't want to die.
Jennet enjoys the banter and soon sees the merit in Thomas the man.
The Mayor's family members, clerks and officials gather for an impending
wedding and seem to be stuck with the dilemma of two uninvited people
- who may or may not be hanged in the morning - who must be included
in the prenuptial activities. Through the party and the night, the
intended bride slips off with the orphan clerk, two brothers fight
over the bride and later become bored over her, the Mayor gets the
vapours, Jennet becomes the guest of honour and poor Thomas falls
helplessly in love. Luckily, Jennet has fallen for him too and when
the so called murder victim is found alive and inebriated, Thomas
can't be hanged. The family, having grown fond of Jennet and with
no proof of her witchcraft, leaves the question of hanging until
morning. Justice Tappercoom indicates he will turn a blind eye if
she escapes. Jennet convinces Thomas that a life with her is worth
putting off his hanging, and they run away together as dawn rises. |