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Play Mary Gallagher. 2 men, 2 women. Interior The scene is Kelly's apartment in a rundown section of Cleveland,
flanked by universities and now infiltrated by middle-class hippies.
Kelly, a laid-back young artist who is finding it difficult to paint,
ekes out a meager living helping his friend Clint make custom furniture.
Also on hand are Clines lover, Prandy, a free-spirited "drop out" who
now works as a waitress; and Prandys vulnerable and somewhat "up-tight"
younger sister, Maura, who is half-heartedly completing college.
The central action of the play involves the complicated and sometimes
stormy interaction of these four highly individualistic protagonists,
each of whom, in his or her own way, has rejected the conventions
of traditional middle-class life. The crisis of the. Play comes when
Prandy announces that she is pregnant and Clint, who had previously
planned to take off for parts unknown, refuses to change his plans
despite her condition. Prandys embittered decision to have an abortion
drives a wedge between her and her more conventional sister, a rift
which is widened still further when Maura embarks on an affair with
the much older (and disturbingly haphazard) Kelly. In the end, when
Clint returns from his wanderings, a reconciliation of sorts is achieved
among the four - impelled by the deep-seated affection and concern
which they feel for each other, but -also tempered by the hurt and
anger which have tested, and yet perhaps deepened, their fated interdependence. Comedy. Lynn Siefert. 3 men, 3 women. Faye Waltz has her hands full with her unmarried, sexpot daughter
Bernadette; but when her other daughter, Celeste, moves back home
as a thirty-something, college-educated bookworm, Faye's situation
is worse than before. She suspects there's no hope for Celeste -
whose idea of a good time consists of reading. an encyclopedia on
penicillin. Faye, on the other hand, has been leading an active,
though hardly fulfilling, sex life. Her most recent conquest happens
to be the mayor of Cairo, Hugh Door, but Hugh has the habit of calling
up his estranged wife in the middle of the night, so Faye knows their
time together will be short. At a local shopping mall, Bernadette
and Celeste meet the men of their dreams: Victor Mulkey Hood is an
bumbling security guard at the K Mart; and Watson Mason is a recently
unemployed super-stud who immediately fools Bernadette into letting
him move in with her. Celeste and Victor fall into a doting relationship
of mutual respect and adoration; at one point, Celeste even
"knights" Victor with his security guard flashlight. Bernadette becomes
pregnant, but when she asks Watson for a commitment he flees. Dejected,
Bernadette gives up the idea of having this baby and has an "extraction." In
the meantime, Celeste asks Victor to be her hero and propose to Bernadette
even though it means sacrificing him to her sister. In response,
Watson makes a pass at Celeste in front of Victor, nearly destroying
the platonic relationship. But, on the banks of the local river,
Victor and Celeste reunite, marching off into a mock sunset together
and proving that even the least promising of romantics can win at
love in the end. Drama 3 Acts. Henrik Ibsen, translated by Michael Meyer. 3 men, 3 women. Unit set Wealthy man of letters, Alfred Allmers has been on a six-week hiking
holiday, his first break in ten years from possessive wife Rita,
and he returns home a changed man. Gone is his obsession with his
Great Work, his book The Responsibility of Man, and he is
now determined to remedy his neglect of crippled son Eyolf. Also
there to greet him is his attractive half-sister Asta, a teacher
who helps the couple with Eyolf. They are disconcerted by the arrival
of local pest controller the Rat Wife, a weird old crone who, with
dog Mopsemand, mesmerises rats and leads them to be drowned. Rita
becomes jealous of Eyolf's place in Allmers' affections, but soon
after, the boy is drowned. Guilt and recriminations fly thick and
fast, and Allmers later finds some solace with Asta, reminiscing
about their close and happy childhood when she would wear boy's clothes
and he called her Eyolf. Asta is being pursued by solid engineer
Borghejm, but although she likes him she cannot bring herself to
marry him because of her affection for Allmers. Later she tells Allmers
that she has found letters from her late mother which reveal that
they are not brother and sister. Now Eyolf is dead, Asta decides
to leave, but Rita and Allmers beg her to stay and 'be their Eyolf'.
She shrinks away and decides to leave with Borghejm. Rita and Allmers
are left alone together with their 'gnawing consciences' (for neither
of them truly loved little Eyolf), and they make plans to try to
fill the void left by little Eyolf and big Eyolf. Play. Ted Tally. 2 men, 2 women. Interior Ben and Joanie, in their midthirties and married eight years, are
an upwardly mobile "Yuppie" couple about to become parents for the
first time. Ben (who is Jewish) works in television, Joanie (a quintessential
WASP) is a would-be artist. As the play begins they are redecorating
the dining room of their Manhattan apartment for use as a nursery,
an activity which both underscores the impending changes in their
lives and reinforces Betts uneasiness about it. The scene is filled
with funny lines as Ben tries to make light of his misgivings, but
his fears lead inevitably to dispute and, by the end of Act One,
Ben has departed and Joanie suddenly finds herself a single parent-to-be.
In Act Two, which takes place several months later, a christening
party is in progress attended by Joanies parents, Charlotte and Gil,
an affluent older couple who are not hesitant to point out that they
never much cared for Ben in the first place. As for Ben, having avoided
the formal christening, he now sneaks in through the nursery window
determined (in a gesture towards his own religious background) to
intone a few Jewish prayers over his newborn son - which, when the
others suddenly return, leads both to a series of wildly funny misunderstandings,
and also, in the end, a tenuous reconciliation and a commitment,
by both Ben and Joanie, to try to grow up before their offspring
does. Lillian Hellman : Drama 6M 4F Interior set Picture a traditionally graceful and charming home in the American
deep South at the turn of the century. Into this peaceful scene bring
the prosperous but grasping Hubbard family - Ben, possessive and
scheming; Oscar, cruel and arrogant; Ben's son Leo, weak and unprincipled;
and deadliest of all, his wickedly clever and predatory sister, Regina
- each trying to outwit the other. In contrast, meet lonely intimidated
Birdie, whom Oscar wed for her father's cotton fields; and wistful
Alexandra, Regina's daughter, who despite her love for her ailing
father Horace, is unable to shield him from the implacable and ultimately
murderous hatred that his wife feels for him. The Little Foxes is
acknowledged to be one of the best and most important American plays
written in the last half- century. Drama. Lillian Hellman. 6 men, 4 women. Interior. Picture a charming home in the South in 1900. Into this peaceful
scene put the prosperous, despotic Hubbard family - Ben, possessive
and scheming; Oscar, cruel and arrogant; Ben's duplicitous, Leo,
weak and unprincipled; Regina, wickedly clever - each trying to outwit
the other. In contrast, meet lonely, intimidated Birdie, whom Oscar
weds for her father's cotton fields; wistful Alexandra, Regina's
daughter; and Horace, ailing husband of Regina, between whom a breach
has existed for years. The conflict in these lives has been caused
by Ben's ambition to erect a cotton mill. The brothers still lack
$75,000 to complete the transaction. This, they hope, will come from
Horace who has been in a hospital with a heart ailment. Horace is
beset by his relatives the first hour of his homecoming, but refuses
to commit himself. Desperate, Leo and his father, Oscar, plan for
Leo to take $80,000 worth of bonds from Horace's safe-deposit box.
However, knowing that he is to be short-lived, Horace has his box
brought to him. Discovering the theft, he informs his wife that he
has willed the bonds to her. He promises to say nothing about the
theft, calling it a loan. Cruelly, Regina recalls their unhappy married
life, causing Horace to be stricken with a severe attack. Regina
refuses to get his medicine upstairs, hoping that the effort of climbing
may prove fatal. Horace collapses. Then Regina blackmails' her brothers
into giving her 75% of the business instead of their planned 33.1/3%,
or she will reveal their theft. We feel, however, that crafty Ben
holds the trump card by his parting remark, "What was a man in a
wheelchair doing on a staircase?" The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane Thriller. Laird Koenig. Interior: 2 men, 1 woman, 1 boy, 1 girl. There is something peculiar about Ryon Jacobs, the 13-year-old little
English girl who lives down that lonely lane, with a father no one
ever sees. She looks innocent enough, but there is something unnatural
in her composure; and what right has she to look an adult so straight
in the eye? To a tight-knit American community on a bleak East Coast
island, she must have something to hide. Busy-body Mrs. Hallett senses
a mystery. Her son Frank senses a prey. Mighoriti, the local policeman,
is powerless to help. Mario Podesta, a lame, self-styled magician,
scarcely more than a child himself, falls under Rynds spell and their
poignant love story is the heartbeat of the play. He comes to understand
that her secret is a very simple one; she is different because she
sees herself as a person. And if you're a child as well, that is
a very difficult position to defend. You may be driven to almost
any lengths to survive ... In the end, Rynn must stand alone against
the chilling terror of Frank Hallett who has discovered her secret
and uses it to control her. Her options narrow down as the play builds
up to an almost unbearable climax. Cherry Vooght : Light Drama 5M 5F Exterior set The play is located among the garden-like environment of the Eden
Grove Allotment. For nearly fifty years it has provided a welcome
respite from the stresses and strains of urban life. The many allotment
holders have not only shared in the planting and growing, but in
the relaxation and companionship the allotments offer, courtesy of
a lively social club at the centre of allotment life. As plans near
for the 50th anniversary celebrations among the members, the group
are horrified to learn that a representative from the local council
has brought news that the land is wanted to develop luxury homes.
Despite the property being left in trust and the allotment members
decision not to sell at any price, the council and the powerful builders
threaten to obtain the land by any means available. Some members
quickly organise a local media blitz which starts positively enough,
but soon member's plots are being vandalised during the night. It
isn't long before serious recriminations develop from both sides,
and when a mysterious fire destroys one of the chalets, suspicions
and mistrust reach the limit, culminating in an open meeting among
the allotment holders and representatives of the council and the
building firm. The tense stalemate is finally resolved though a surprising
and unexpected denouement, and all sides are left pondering a future
few of them expected to see. Translation by John Mortimer of L'Hôtel du Libre Echange by
Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallieres Seen at the Royal National Theatre in 1984, this witty,stylish translation
remains true to the Feydeau spirit of backfiring and naughty wordplay,
containing all the classic ingredients: thwarted lust, spiralling
panic and a seedy hotel where the corridors see more action than
the beds. 'Mr Mortimer's translation never sounds like one. Can one
pay a higher compliment.' Daily Telegraph Comedy. Andre Roussin, adapted from the French by Nancy Mitford. 4 men, 1 woman. Exterior Three excessively sophisticated and elegant English people are shipwrecked
on a desert island. Philip and Susan are married, and Henry is the
famly friend, who, it turns out, has been something more than that
to Susan for the past few years. hey never wanted to hurt Philip,
and their chief concern has always been for his happiness. But Henry,
seeing Philip monopolize Susan on'the island, istit rather unhappy;
he tells Philip about the old arrangement and after a great deal
of discussion it's decided that Philip and Henry will share Susan
on the island, as they did in the past. This arrangement continues
more or less happily, until an island native arrives and shows considerable
interest in Susan. From then on things become quite involved until
a ship appears on the horizon to rescue them all. Drama. Barbara Lebow. 2 men, 2 women. Unit set Josephine Monaghan lived her adult life in the west as a man, with
no one knowing her real gender. A debutante in the east, Josephine
has a baby out of wedlock, and in order to support it and spare the
child any shame, she heads west as Joe, leaving her son, Laddie,
with her sister, Helen. Joe carves out a wrangler's life, learning
how to live and work like a man. She is befriended by an older cowboy,
Fred, who remains her friend for life, and who never finds - while
she is alive - that Joe is a woman. Joe sends money back home to
help raise her son, yet, as time goes on and Laddie grows older,
Helen feels he has become her child and she tells him his mother
is dead. Joe finally goes back east to visit, the one time in all
her years away, and finds her son thinks her dead. With Heleris explanations
and pleading, Joe goes along and meets her son disguised as his mother's
old best friend, Fred. Back in the west, as Joe gets older and frail,
she remembers her youth, her lover, her child, and her first days
with Fred. Memories mingle with fantasies of what might have been.
Knowing that Fred will find her when she dies, Joe lays out her letters
and old belongings; dues to her identity, her cherished "real surprise'
for Fred. As her life nears its end, Joe/Josephine grapples with
herself, her history and identity. As she prepares to die, she finds
peace in the truth of Fred's words, "Kin is plain and simple who
you find." Play. Anthony Minghella Seen at Hampstead Theatre in 1984, the play suggests the visions of her whole life that pass through old Leonora's mind as she chats with her little granddaughter. Spanning nearly sixty years Leonora recalls in short, beautifully observed scenes, the peaks and troughs - marriage, children, her husband's desertion of her and her final triumph over his mistress. '... it is piercingly authentic and distressingly all-pervasive in its emotional onslaught.' City Limits Tom Murphy Play. Derek Hoddinott, based on a short story by Daphne du Maurier Marie finds life with her conservative, passionless husband suffocatingly
repressive and starts an affair with a handsome young photographer,
undeterred that he has a clubfoot. The infatuation brings tragedy
and horror, leading to his death; a threat of blackmail from his
sister (similarly deformed) and, finally, an even more fearful dread
that such deformities are sometimes inherited, latent in an unborn
child. Period 1900 The Little Tommy Parker Celebrated Colored Minstrel Show Play Carlyle Brown. 7 men. Interior. Six black minstrel players in a Pullman porter railroad car on a
cold winter's afternoon in February, 1895, outside the rural town
of Hannibal, Missouri, wait for showtime to arrive. The chilly wind
blows outside as they pass the time with stories and memories. Suddenly
one member, Percy, so far absent, bursts in and collapses on the
floor. When the troupe realizes their friend has been chased by a
white mob, they must find a way to protect him and themselves. Fear,
anxiety and deep honesty surface as these black men blacken their
faces with burnt cork, trying to allow their friend to avoid detection.
The white mob realizes where Percy is and shows up at the train where
Percy goes out to face them, hoping to save the others. Play. John Scholes A light-hearted play about accountant-turned-novelist Harry who
has deserted a wife and son to live with Pauline who must now support
him. Much as she loves Harry, she realises that he will never be
happy living off her, nor will he write another book, so she contacts
his wife, urging her to take Harry back. An elaborate plan follows
with the ensuing scenes full of cover-ups, innuendoes and jealous
partners. Play. Lavonne Mueller. 5 men, 2 women. Unit Set. Tempering historical fact with eloquent imagination, the author
parallels the lives of two outstanding women on their journeys to
self-fulfilment - Joan of Arc in medieval France, and Susan B. Anthony
in the American West of the nineteenth century. Both have elected
to sacrifice personal happiness to a greater cause, and both must
suffer the taunts and opposition of unyielding and often scornful
men. Susan B. Anthony's quest for woman suffrage takes her, alone
and vulnerable, into the rough and nimble world of the American frontier;
while Joan must overcome the entrenched distrust of her own troops
as she struggles to prepare, them for battle. Richly interwoven with
subtle period detail and warmly human vignettes, these separate stories
are first contrasted and then united, when the two protagonists finally
meet and commiserate about the sacrifices which their dedication
has demanded of them. Both regret the absence of romance in their
lives, and both admit to persistent fears and uncertainties, and
yet neither will consider abandoning the awesome responsibilities
which history - and their own unswerving commitment - has thrust
upon them. Play. Peter Clapham, adapted from the novel by Louisa M. Alcott This revised version of Clapham's earlier play is now shorter in
running time and has one fewer male character. It still faithfully
keeps to the novel, interweaving the lives of the March girls and
the boy next door as they grow happily together, yet the action is
contained neatly in one set. A full introduction and helpful production
notes complete the text. |