Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune

About the show

The play opens in the dark with a couple making love in her one-room walk-up apartment in the west side of Manhattan. They are Johnny (originated by F. Murray Abraham), a short order cook, and Frankie (originated by Kathy Bates), a waitress. Johnny is certain he has found his soul mate in Frankie. She, on the other hand, is far more cautious and disinclined to jump to conclusions and at first has written off the encounter as a one night stand. As the night unfolds, they slowly reveal themselves to each other as they take tentative steps towards the possible start of a new relationship. Describing the scene from which the play gets its name, David Finkle wrote, "Johnny calls the radio station to request the most beautiful music ever written...Claude Debussy's 'Clair de lune'...floats onto the night air... Johnny, buoyant with love, beckons Frankie to join him at the window and to bask...in the clair de lune. It's a lovely moment..."