THE SECRET AFFAIRS OF MILDRED WILD

Paul Zindel

Comedy.: 4 men, 5 women; interior.

In the tiny living quarters behind the Greenwich Village candy store which she operates with her husband, crowded with her 40-year collection of movie magazines, Mildred Wild has virtually escaped from reality into the dream world conjured up by the 3000 movies she has eagerly devoured. And when the outside world does intrude — via her husband; his meddling sister; their hard-boiled landlady; the mincing butcher from next door; or the foreman of the wrecking crew sent to tear down the building — Mildred meets each crisis with an hilarious fantasy-scene drawn from her precious lode of old movies.

As the action moves swiftly ahead to its delightfully unpredictable climax, Mildred's life is further complicated by such unlikely visitors as a bulldozer, a nun, King Kong, and a super efficient TV camera crew, all adding to the merriment and, ultimately, to the poignance which infuses the play and the touching-funny escapades of its kooky, lovable and totally enchanting heroine.