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Photograph 51

Play · 2008

Photograph 51 is a play by Anna Ziegler. Photograph 51 opened in the West End of London in September 2015. The play focuses on the often-overlooked role of X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin in the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA while working at King's College London. This play won the third STAGE International Script Competition in 2008. The title comes from Photo 51, the nickname given to an X-ray diffraction image taken by Raymond Gosling in May, 1952, under the supervision of Rosalind Franklin. The one-act play runs for 95 minutes with no intermission. Photograph 51 was commissioned, developed, and given its world premiere under the direction of Mary Resing by Active Cultures Theatre in Maryland in 2008. That year, it also won the 2008 STAGE (Scientists, Technologists and Artists Generating Exploration) International script competition for Best New Play. Photograph 51 had subsequent productions at The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York, Theater J in Washington DC, Seattle Repertory Theatre in Seattle, amongst many others, then in London's Noël Coward Theatre, in the West End, directed by Michael Grandage. The play premiered in Australia in Melbourne in 2019.

Piaf

Play · 1978

Piaf is a play by Pam Gems that focuses on the life and career of French chanteuse Edith Piaf. The biographical drama with music portrays the singer as a self-destructive, promiscuous alcoholic and junkie who, in one controversial scene, urinates in public. The original production starred Jane Lapotaire in the title role, and included Ian Charleson as Pierre. It premiered in 1978 at Royal Shakespeare Company's The Other Place in Stratford-upon-Avon, after which it moved to the Donmar Warehouse in London, the Aldwych Theatre, the Piccadilly Theatre, and then Wyndham's Theatre, before going to the United States. In the U.S. the play began in Philadelphia. After six previews the show opened on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre on February 6, 1981, with Lapotaire returning in the lead. It ran for 165 performances, and Lapotaire won the 1981 Tony Award.

Picnic

Play · 1953

It is Labor Day, and everyone is preparing for a neighborhood picnic. Hal Carter, a drifter, arrives in town looking for work and visits his college friend Alan, who is dating Madge Owens with the intent to marry her. Hal does odd jobs for the welcoming Helen Potts. Her neighbor, Flo Owens, distrusts Hal, especially around her daughters, Madge and Millie. Since shy Millie does not have a date, neighbor Mrs. Potts suggests that Hal accompany her, much to the chagrin of Flo. Hal agrees, but he is much more interested in Madge. There is an undeniable attraction between the two, as much as they try to fight it. While getting ready for the picnic, the family and friends dance in Flo's backyard to music playing nearby. Hal grows on both Millie and Madge, and they both vie for his attention. Rosemary, an "old maid schoolteacher" who boards at the Owens house, notices, disapproves, and is attracted to the shirtless Hal as she waits for her Labor Day date, local shop proprietor Howard Bevans. As Madge and Hal dance passionately, and a drunken Rosemary later butts in so she can dance with Hal (and proceeds to rip his shirt when Howard pries her away from Hal), Millie gets sick from drinking too much whiskey while no one is paying attention. Rosemary blames Millie's drinking on her date with Hal, and says he'll never rise beyond the gutter, and Flo joins in criticizing him. Hal sits in the shadows by himself while everyone leaves for the picnic. Rosemary and her boyfriend Howard decide to skip the picnic and go for a drive. Madge stays behind to change her dress. When she comes back outside and tries to console Hal, they kiss after a deep and revealing conversation. They run off together and spend the night in the car. Howard brings Rosemary back to the house. As he leaves, Rosemary begs him to marry her. When Madge and Hal return, Madge is ashamed of what they did. Hal asks for one more kiss, and their “passion is revived”. In the morning, Flo is frantic because she has seen Madge crying hysterically. Rosemary leaves with Howard to get married, and everyone goes to the street to see her off. When Madge is left alone in the backyard, Hal shows up to talk to her. He has spent the night in hiding after Alan falsely reported to the police that Hal stole his car, in order to drive him out of town for "stealing" Madge. The others come back into the yard, and Hal leaves after defending himself when Alan arrives to drive him away, but only after telling Madge that he loves her and asks her to leave with him, despite Flo's presence and disapproval. Madge finally realizes that she loves him after he's gone, and she enters the house crying. Alan leaves, and it is obviously over between him and Madge. A little while later, Madge comes out of the house with a suitcase and tells her mother that she's going after Hal. The play ends with Flo watching her daughter leave.

Picon Pie

Play · 2002

Picon Pie is a musical play by Rose Leiman Goldemberg about the life and career of Molly Picon, a performer associated with Yiddish theatre, Broadway, film, radio, and television. The play premiered at the Santa Monica Playhouse in California on April 6, 2002, with Barbara Minkus as Picon and Jack Kutcher as her husband and manager, Jacob "Yonkel" Kalich. The production was directed by Chris DeCarlo, with musical direction by Beth Ertz. Minkus later reprised the role in a 2003 Florida production and in the play's 2004 Off-Broadway production in New York City. The New York production opened at the DR2 Theatre on July 15, 2004, and later transferred to the Lamb's Theatre, where June Gable succeeded Minkus in the role of Picon.

Pigs

Play · 1924

The play is set in the fictional town of Medbury, Indiana, near the Illinois state line. Act I (Atkins living room) Senior is upset with Junior's pleas to borrow $250 to buy 250 cholera-infected pigs. Senior's finances are precarious; his mother-in-law borrowed $2000 from him and he has no ready cash. There is also a note coming due on the mortgage. Junior is convinced he can cure the pigs and resell them for a large profit. Grandma Spencer and Hector are in the living room when Ellen returns from visiting a bereaved neighbor. Grandma Spencer is incensed, claiming the recently deceased still owed her own dead husband $16. Ellen gently refutes her; the neighbor showed a ledger wherein the money had been paid to Hector. The latter quickly leaves for a trip downtown. Junior departs to return a healed goat to a neighbor. Later, Mildred explains to Senior that Junior and her are engaged and need the profits from the pig deal to get married. Spencer Atkins enters, dressed in Junior's only good suit for a party. He's surprised to learn Junior and Mildred are coming as well, and quickly departs. When Junior returns, Mildred tells him about the note for the mortgage, which she overheard her uncle discuss. Junior hurries upstairs to put on a suit that is no longer there. When Hector returns, Mildred innocently asks if he's feeling better now. Suspicious, he deduces Junior has secretly given him something. His yells of "Poison!" bring everyone else. Junior confesses he gave Hector a store-bought tonic to perk him up so he could go find work. Junior is angry with Mildred and breaks the engagement. (Curtain) Act II (Same setting, about 2pm the next day) Mildred and Junior reconcile while considering how $250 might be had. Smith Hastings comes by to talk with Senior, reminds him of the note coming due and rejects any delay. On his way out Mildred hits up her uncle for the cash, but he declines. Lenore comes by in her car, and Mildred tries to put the screws to her, on the basis of past indiscretions. Mildred coyly mentions to Hector that Tillie Hendricks was in town, holding a baby. He panics and runs out calling for his mother. Junior is in despair until Ellen twists her engagement ring off, and hands it to him. Use this, she urges, its worth more than $250. (Curtain) Act III (Scene 1: Hendrick's farm about 4am the next morning) Dr. Springer and Mildred are readying buckets of slop mixed with Junior's tonic. They can't see how many pigs are still alive until dawn comes. Junior rushes in with more tonic. He had to dodge an auto with Spencer and Lenore, who are out looking for them. The auto pulls into the farmyard; Junior and Mildred hide, while Dr. Springer deals with the searchers. After they leave, Junior and Mildred come out as Dr. Springer fills the pig troughs with the slop. The pigs come running and eat, delighting all three of them. (Scene 2: Atkins living room about 8pm same day) Everyone has been in an uproar about the missing couple. Junior and Mildred explain they got married over the state line, with Dr. Springer and Tillie Hendricks as witnesses. The buyer of the pigs gave Junior a certified check for $2400, which he endorses over to Senior. Tillie phones, and Mildred pressures Hector to talk with and later go see her. Junior asks for some of the money back when the check is cashed, so he can redeem his mother's ring. Grandma Spencer is left alone, muttering "Pigs!". (Curtain)

Play Dead

Play · 2010

Play Dead is a 2010 Off-Broadway show co-written by magicians Todd Robbins and Teller, the latter best known as the non-speaking half of the illusionist duo Penn & Teller. The show also features Charlotte Pines as Margery Crandon, Geri Berman as Eusapia Palladino, Don Meehan as Albert Fish, and Drea Lorraine as Phantoms. The opening minutes of the show are performed in complete darkness, and the show itself features carefully crafted tricks and illusions ranging from killing a real audience member, to contact with the dead. This incarnation of Play Dead began with two weeks of workshop performances at The Calypso Room in Las Vegas in September, 2010, at the Rio, the home of Penn and Teller. Teller told the opening night audience that the show marked the first time ever that a show was created in Las Vegas to bring to New York, and was headed directly for an off-broadway venue in New York City. It opened for previews on October 21, 2010, and opened officially November 10, 2010 at The Players Theatre on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village. In 2013, Teller and Robbins brought the production to The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, with a cast including: Todd Robbins, Julie Marie Hassett, Pearls Daily (credited as Brianna Hurley), Shar Mayer, and Rick Williamson.

Play It Again, Sam

Play · 1969

The play is about a recently divorced film magazine writer, Allan Felix, who is trying to restart his romantic life. Eventually he falls in love (and has a brief affair) with Linda, the wife of his best friend, Dick. During the course of the play, he repeatedly seeks advice from the ghost of his idol, Humphrey Bogart, but eventually decides that he needs to be himself rather than imitating Bogart. Telling Linda that the right thing for her to do is to return to her husband, Felix quotes the famous lines that Bogart delivers to Ingrid Bergman in the last scene of Casablanca.

Plaza Suite

Play · 1968

The play is composed of three acts, each involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of New York City's Plaza Hotel. The first act, Visitor From Mamaroneck, introduces the audience to not-so-blissfully wedded couple Sam and Karen Nash, who are revisiting their honeymoon suite in an attempt by Karen to bring the love back into their marriage. Her plan backfires and the two become embroiled in a heated argument about whether or not Sam is having an affair with his secretary. The act ends with Sam leaving (allegedly to attend to urgent business) and Karen sadly reflecting on how much things have changed since they were young. The second act, Visitor from Hollywood, involves a meeting between movie producer Jesse Kiplinger and his childhood sweetheart, suburban housewife Muriel Tate. Serial divorcé Jesse attempts to seduce Muriel, who represents to him a longed-for innocence and purity. Meanwhile, celebrity-obsessed Muriel wants to hear every sordid detail of Hollywood life. She attempts to maintain her virtuous self-image which becomes increasingly at odds with her behaviour, and the act ends with the pair beginning to have sex as Muriel makes Jesse recite the names of the celebrities he sat nearby at the most recent Academy Awards dinner. The third act, Visitor from Forest Hills, revolves around married couple Roy and Norma Hubley on their daughter Mimsey's wedding day. In a rush of nervousness, Mimsey has locked herself in the suite's bathroom and refuses to leave. Her parents make frantic attempts to cajole her into attending her wedding while the gathered guests await the trio's arrival downstairs. It appears that the marriage will go ahead, as the act ends.

Poison Pen

Play · 1937 est

Poison Pen is a mystery play by the British writer Richard Llewellyn. In a small English village, a series of poison pen letters cause chaos and suspicion. It premiered at Richmond Theatre before transferring to the West End where it ran for 176 performances between 9 April and 19 September 1938, initially at the Shaftesbury Theatre before moving to the Playhouse Theatre and then the Garrick Theatre. The original West End cast included Roddy Hughes, Walter Fitzgerald, Neville Brook, Jack Allen, Ethel Warwick, Dorothy Black and Margaret Yarde.

Poldekin

Play · 1920

This synopsis is compiled from contemporaneous newspaper and magazine reviews. Act I (An apartment in a Russian city.) The setting shows signs of struggle from outside; flames flicker dimly through glassless windows and holes in the walls. From time to time shots are heard: singly, a few together, then in bursts. Podoff has gathered the others to discuss their upcoming mission to America. To hone their language skill, they have agreed to speak only English among themselves. Maria serves them tea; Poldekin has joined the group solely to see no harm comes to her. They discuss the mission, though Poldekin's enthusiasm seems more nuanced than the others ideological fervor. He punctures their assertions about Bolshevism with dry wit. They regard him as an amiable halfwit, and so assign him an easy task: printing propaganda tracts when they reach New York. (Curtain) Act II (Backyard of a New York City tenement.) The group's members have taken separate rooms in a tenement filled with immigrants from many countries. They meet in the backyard, and continue to speak in English, since Poldekin points out it is the least understood language among the building's inhabitants. Poldekin annoys everyone by asking the same question repeatedly: What is America? He confounds his colleagues proposals by pointing out the inherent difficulties, and thwarts any suggestion that Maria carry out her task to assassinate an official. Having heard about baseball, he asks Pinsky to take him to see it. Pinsky, who pretends to be indifferent, agrees. (Curtain) Act III (Same as Act II.) Poldekin reports back to the group on baseball, but his appreciation of it draws rebukes from his colleagues. The others try to convince Blanche to join their cause. Being a social outcast, who names the geraniums in her flower-box after lovers, they feel she should be an easy convert. But Blanche isn't eager to give up what little she has to state ownership. She rejects their arguments, and the commotion draws the attention of Welch. He plys Endechieff with a vile concoction he calls a Brunswick cocktail, and the tipsy bolshevik soon turns tipster. Poldekin realizes he has embraced the idea of America in preference to Bolshivik theory; as he does so, the act ends with a Decoration Day parade, only the flags of which are glimpsed over the top of the tenement fence as they go by to stirring music. (Curtain) Act IV (An apartment in the same tenement.) The police have picked up Endechieff, who fingers the others. They are all brought to Poldekin's apartment. The police intend to charge them with distributing seditious literature. However, they find that instead of Bolshevik propaganda, Poldekin has printed copies of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Welch and the police are stymied; they release the whole group from arrest and depart. Poldekin argues with the others that America is better run than their own revolution. Maria is convinced, some of the others are swayed. Nicolai is more upset with Poldekin than with Endechieff. He pulls out a pistol and shoots Poldekin. In the original ending of the play, Poldekin dies at this point, with Blanche afterward placing a small American flag on his chest. Tarkington's revised ending has Poldekin only slightly wounded, and he survives to marry Maria. (Curtain)

Polly of the Circus

Play · 1907

Polly, a star bareback rider in a circus, is injured during a performance. The circus leaves town and she is left behind to convalescence at a local minister's house. During her 11-month stay they fall in love but the disapproval of the town folk causes Polly to rejoin the circus. A month later the circus comes back to town and the minister goes to it in search of Polly. This third act of the play recreates an actual circus on stage, complete with animals, during which the lovers reunite. The final star lit tableau scene has the lovers together watching lights of the circus wagons as they disappear over the hills.

Pollyanna

Play · 1915

Act I (Miss Polly Harrington's parlor, a summer afternoon.) Mrs. Carmody, Miss Carroll, and Mrs. Gregg are sewing and packing old clothes into a missionary barrel. They are aghast at Nancy's free tongue and astonished at Miss Polly's news about her niece coming to live with her. When Pollyanna does arrive, she charms Aunt Polly and Mrs. Gregg a little, but not the others. Pollyanna says there wasn't any black clothing in the last barrel they received, so she lacks mourning clothes. Her father told her to be glad when he died, for he would go to Heaven. She explains the Glad game to them and gets the Aid ladies to try. Spying a doll on a chair, Pollyanna thinks it is for her, but Aunt Polly says no, its for the barrel. Pollyanna then brings in her own gift for Miss Polly, a basket with a tiny kitten and puppy, who she introduces as Sodom and Gomorrah. The ladies become hysterical and Aunt Polly sternly orders Nancy to take away the animals. Pollyanna picks up Aunt Polly's locket and opens it, telling everyone there's a pretty man inside. Aunt Polly grabs the locket and hustles Pollyanna to her bedroom. Aunt Polly confides that Pollyanna was out the window before she could stop her. Pollyanna re-enters the parlor, bringing Jimmy Bean, who she announces is another gift for Aunt Polly. This is the last straw: the ladies are dismissed, Jimmy is told to shove off, and Pollyanna given the rules of the house. She is distressed to learn that Aunt Polly sent for her only out of a sense of duty. Sobbing to herself, she is surprised by Jimmy's reappearance. He explains there's a castle next door with an ogre in it no one ever sees. They decide to explore it but are forestalled by Aunt Polly's scolding. (Curtain) Act II (John Pendleton's Library. Some weeks later.) Pendleton scolds Bleecker over his insistence on having seen a ghost come through the hedge. Dr. Chilton visits, and reminds Pendleton of how the Harrington sisters were once their loves. He informs Pendleton about the new girl who has cured all the hypochondriacs in the village and cheered the truly ill with her "Glad game". He confesses to having sicced her on Pendleton: "Old King Grouch" as she has labelled him. A sudden knocking on a cabinet door, and out pops Pollyanna. Dr. Chilton had told her about the secret passage between the houses, made twenty years before. Pollyanna slowly thaws Pendleton's heart with a fairy-tale she was told by her mother. A king had loved a princess, but they were forced apart by her father. The princess was forced to marry and to save souls, but still loved the king and prayed for him every night. Pendleton is entranced that his long-lost Charity Harrington had still loved him and prayed for him, even though married. He shows Pollyanna a large portrait of her mother, who Pollyanna resembles. Pollyanna is stunned; for the first time her composure breaks, and she cries out to the portrait, "Mother, come back to me! Nobody wants me!" She sobs until Pendleton comforts her, saying she can stay with him if Aunt Polly doesn't want her. Dr. Chilton is alarmed; Polly Harington won't allow it. But even as he and Pendleton debate, Pollyanna reappears, with her hat and suitcase. (Two quick curtains, each opening on a still tableau of Pollyanna and Pendleton embracing, and Dr Chilton beaming.) Act III (Same as Act II. An hour later.) Pollyanna, Chilton, and Pendleton are eating ice cream. Bleecker announces Nancy, who has brought Pollyanna's things. Since Aunt Polly doesn't want her, Pollyanna wants to stay with Pendleton. But Aunt Polly appears and demands Pollyanna return with her. She insists that she wants her niece. As she takes Pollyanna by the hand, her locket falls from its chain. Pollyanna picks it up, opens it and recognizes Dr. Chilton's photo. Aunt Polly refuses to let Dr. Chilton see the locket, but that is enough to convince him. He is delighted she has worn his photo over her heart for twenty years. Later, Pollyanna sneaks back into the library through a window, bringing the basket with Sodom and Gomorrah, who Pendleton reluctantly agrees to keep. Next, Jimmy Bean comes through the window, and Pollyanna beseeches Pendleton to adopt him. As a trustee of the Orphanage, Pendleton agrees to let Jimmy stay until they know each other better. Pollyanna departs, but soon there is a great commotion from outside. A car has struck her. She is brought into the library, where she discovers she can't stand or walk. Pendleton, however, uses her own philosophy to cure her despair. (Curtain) Act IV (Same as Act III. Five years later, a summer evening.) Bleecker and Pendleton are fixing up the library to celebrate Pollyanna's return from Europe, where she has been treated by medical specialists. Jimmy Bean, now James Pendleton, returns from a horseback ride to describe the throng waiting at the train station. Nancy explains though that Pollyanna has come by auto, and will arrive shortly. Dr. Chilton and Miss Polly, now Mrs. Chilton, arrive. They were married in Paris, but like Nancy won't tell Pendleton if Pollyanna is cured. Finally Pollyanna herself comes in, obviously cured. Pollyanna and Jimmy confess their love and agree they are engaged. They kiss, but are surprised by the adults. Pendleton calls for Bleecker to bring in "the menagerie", which he does, carrying a fully-grown Sodom and leading a giant Gomorrah. Pollyanna marvels at their survival and size. They then play the Glad game, with Pollyanna stepping forward last to face the audience and extoll its benefits. (Curtain)

Pomander Walk

Play · 1910

The overall setting is laid on Pomander Walk near Chiswick, a residential street of five tiny houses in Queen Anne style, on the bank of the river Thames. For a matinee charity benefit in April 1911, Parker wrote a brief rhyming prologue, delivered by the character of Marjolaine before the curtain rises, which became part of the play thereafter. Act I (Saturday afternoon, 25th May, 1805.) The inhabitants of Pomander Walk are introduced through little interactions. Caroline Thring seeks Pomander Lane to dispense alms, and is sent packing. Baron Otford comes by to ask Admiral Sir Peter to convince his son Jack to marry an heiress. He himself is still pining for his lost love. Sir Peter promises, not realizing he just sent off the pushy heiress. Marjolaine is surprised by Jack, who has rowed up the river. At first standoffish, she agrees to bring him refreshment. He finds the name "Lucy Pryor" in her book, but is laughingly told it is Maman's. The Muffin-Man's bell brings all the inhabitants out to buy his wares. Brooke-Hoskyn and Jack recognize each other; it is apparent the former is actually a servant. Jack greets Sir Peter, who introduces him to the folks, but Mme. Lachesnais faints when she hears his full name. (Curtain) Act II (Saturday morning, 1st June, 1805.) Brooke tells his wife he sent an unsigned letter to Baron Otford about Jack and Marjolaine. His goal is to keep Jack away from Pomander Walk, so Brooke's secret will be safe. A gloomy Marjolaine tries to pump Sir Peter about Jack's service with him at Copenhagen. Baron Otford tells Sir Peter about the letter and Jack's owning up to loving the girl. The Baron made him promise to stay away for a week, which is now up. Madame tries to console her daughter about Jack's broken promise to come back, and ends up telling her about her own broken romance with Baron Otford. Ruth complains to Marjolaine of her sister and Basil's inability to display their affection. Marjolaine tells Barbara to train her parrot to say "Tell Barbara you love her". Madame Lachesnais meets up with Baron Otford at the Gazebo; he does not recognize her as Lucy Pryor at first. She dismisses his concerns, saying her family wanted nothing to do with his. Jack explains to Marjolaine why he stayed away. Together, they waylay Rev. Sternroyd, who agrees to ask the Bishop for a special license to marry. Sir Peter rescues Mrs. Poskett's cat from the river, earning him a warm embrace. Caroline Thring returns, but as she walks past, the open door of each house slams shut. (Curtain) Act III (Monday evening, 3rd June, 1805.) The Moon not yet risen, the Lamplighter lights the Walk's two street lamps. All the inhabitants of Pomander Walk gather for tea outside by the big elm tree. They are sore at Sir Peter for not proposing to Mrs. Poskett, who sits in gloom. Brooke-Hoskyn is thus set to take over leadership of the Walk, but retreats when Baron Otford comes by. Otford informs Sir Peter that Hoskyn used to be his butler. Sir Peter is elated, but decides it would be unfair to expose him. Barbara and Basil are now engaged, Marjolaine's suggestion about the parrot having worked. Eventually Sir Peter's reluctance is overcome and he asks Mrs. Poskett to marry him. Baron Otford and Madame Lachesnais reconcile and agree to give each other a new chance, while giving Jack and Marjolaine their blessing to wed. (Curtain)

Post Road

Play · 1934

Emily Madison provides accommodations for tourists in her rambling old ancestral home on the Boston Post Road in Connecticut. Her sister May and unemployed brother-in-law George live with her. George is obsessed with short-wave radio, tuning in to police calls and foreign stations. Emily's only boarder is Rev. Cartwright, an itinerant preacher who comes and goes. When a young traveling couple, Bill and Celia, stop by to look for a room, Cartwright discourages them. May and George are unable to counter his influence, and the couple departs for a motel with more amenities. Jeeby, a strongly-built taciturn teenager, once more delivers an incomplete and mixed-up assortment of clean laundry, to Emily's consternation. A limousine pulls up to the house, and Dr. Spender enters seeking a room for his patient, a young woman who has been taken ill while travelling. He and Nurse Martin take the Girl to a room, while the chauffeur Matt brings in her luggage. Dr. Spender confides that the Girl is the unmarried daughter of a prominent Episcopalian bishop, hence they don't want to reveal her name. Later that night noises from the girl's room seem to indicate she is giving birth, and soon a baby's cries are heard in the living room. Dr. Spender and Matt depart, leaving Nurse Martin to care for the baby. The infant remains in the room with the Girl, and only an occasional cry is heard from it during the next week. Dr. Spender and Matt return, bringing more things for the baby. The Girl is pronounced well-enough to leave the room, while Emily, May, and George finally get to see the baby boy. The Girl seems restless and uninterested in her infant. She tries to get music from George's radio but it only produces static. Later, George is able to tune into a police call about the recent kidnapping of a baby. Emily, holding a baby doll that Nurse Martin used to calm the infant, suddenly realizes the noise it makes is the same that they have been hearing the past week. The Girl, bored and rebellious, wants to leave. Rev. Cartwright and Dr. Spender, who seem to know each other, warn her against trying to travel so soon. While Nurse Martin holds the baby, the Girl leaves the house, clearly frightened, followed by Matt, while Spender and Cartwright watch. State Trooper Virgil Beamis and his partner Jay visit the Madison mansion, looking for information about the kidnapping. Beamis is suspicious of Cartwright, who looks familiar to him. Since the Girl is gone, Emily claims the baby is hers, which causes amusement to Beamis, on account of her age and unmarried state. The troopers depart, and soon neighbors start dropping in to try and see if the rumors about Emily's baby are true. Mrs. Canby comes calling to borrow corn starch, but really to snoop. May eventually pushes her out, but not before she sees a baby bottle. George, tuning in another police radio call, hears the body of a young woman who was beaten to death has been found on the Post Road. By now, Emily, George, and May realize they are captive in their own home. Emily outwits the kidnappers by hiding the real baby in the washbasket with the dirty laundry with a note for the police. Jeeby takes the basket away, while Emily and May fool the kidnappers by using their own decoy baby doll to make them think its still in its room. The police arrive and arrest the crooks, and the real baby is restored to its parents.

Potash and Perlmutter

Play · 1913

Potash and Perlmutter is a three-act play written by Montague Glass and Charles Klein, based on earlier short stories written by Glass. Producer Albert H. Woods staged it on Broadway, where it opened at the George M. Cohan Theatre on August 16, 1913. The play is a comedy featuring the characters Abe Potash and Mawruss Perlmutter, who are business partners in the garment industry. The play was a hit and ran for 441 performances on Broadway. A production in London's West End opened on April 14, 1914, at the Queen's Theatre starring Augustus Yorke and Robert Leonard. By the fall of 1914, Woods had eight road companies presenting the show on tour. According to George S. Kaufman, the success of the play was due to the largely-uncredited staging by Hugh Ford. Kaufman, then a drama critic for the New-York Tribune said of Ford: "He did more than stage it; he built it. So valuable were his services, in fact, that he is said to have been paid a royalty upon the play". The play was adapted as a 1923 movie, also called Potash and Perlmutter. Woods produced several theatrical sequels, including Abe and Mawruss (1915), Business Before Pleasure (1917), His Honor: Abe Potash (1919), Partners Again (1922), and Potash and Perlmutter, Detectives (1926), all written by Glass with various co-authors.

Prayer for the French Republic

Play · 2022

In 2016, an American student Molly decides to visit her family in France to find her roots and tries to connect with her distant cousin Marcelle. Marcelle's son is the victim of an anti-Semitic attack, causing Marcelle's husband Charles who immigrated from Algeria to decide to move to Israel. This earns the dismay of Marcelle's brother Patrick, as Marine Le Pen's rise in mainstream French politics continues. The play's second story explores how Marcelle and Patrick's great-grandparents suffered loss during the Holocaust in the 1940s.

Prelude to a Kiss

Play · 1988

Peter is a self-conscious employee at a publishing firm who attends a party. There he meets Rita, a seemingly carefree part-time bartender who hopes to be a graphic designer. The two realize a mutual attraction and begin dating. Over time, Rita reveals her fears about the world, and her hesitancy to invest in joy or dreams when she expects bad things are more likely to happen than good. Despite this, she falls in love with Peter and agrees to marry him. Some time later, the two marry. At their wedding reception, they encounter an unknown Old Man who was passing by and wanted to wish the couple good luck. The Old Man asks to kiss the bride before he leaves and Rita agrees, charmed. As they kiss, Rita and the Old Man magically exchange bodies. Confused and disoriented, Rita wanders away, now inhabiting an elderly male form, while "Rita" and Peter embark on a honeymoon in Jamaica. During the trip, Peter is confused by his wife's new personality and inability to remember basic details of her own life. When they return home, "Rita" seems back to her old self and kisses Peter. After the kiss, Peter realizes this isn't his wife and concludes the impostor read Rita's diary to better masquerade as her. Panicked, he demands her return then leaves the apartment. At the bar where Rita worked, Peter sees the Old Man from the wedding reception. They talk and Peter realizes this is the real Rita, who has been living as the Old Man (whose name is Julius). They hope to make another body swap, but discover the Old Man has fled to stay with Rita's parents the Boyles, telling them the marriage is in turmoil and separation is needed. Peter meets Leah, Julius's daughter, and learns the Old Man is a retired widower who has terminal cancer, with maybe a year left to live. As they consider what to do, Peter and Rita live together as a couple again. Rita now appreciates life more deeply, while Peter realizes he loves her despite the shell she inhabits changing how they relate physically. Peter and Rita finally confront Julius, but the Old Man himself isn't sure how to cause the body swap. He came upon their wedding by chance and envied the bride's youth due to his fear of dying. Rita realizes that during their kiss, she had felt envy for the Old Man as well, wishing she could be someone who had already survived into old age despite any obstacles. As the two realize they no longer have the fears they felt that day, Rita and Julius exchange souls again. Julius takes his leave as Rita and Peter reunite.

Pressure

Play · 2014

Pressure is a 2014 play written by David Haig, based on true events that took place during World War II. It centres on the true story of James Stagg and the weather forecasts that determined the date of the D-Day landings as part of Operation Overlord. The personal and military stresses of Stagg, the tensions between the teams with different weather forecasts for the date of the proposed D-Day, and the events of the 72 hours leading up to D-Day are explored throughout the play. It premiered at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh in May 2014, and had its West End premiere at the Ambassadors Theatre in June 2018. The play had its North American premiere at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto in January 2023.

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