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The Sweepers

Play · 2002

The Sweepers is a two-act play written by John C. Picardi. A dramatic comedy set in the Italian-American neighborhood of North End, Boston, the play centers around the lives of three women towards the end of World War II. The Sweepers premiered Off-Broadway at the Urban Stages theater in New York in 2002, where it was directed by Frances Hill. In his review of the original production, Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times complimented the cast, production values and Picardi's writing, which Van Gelder felt "renders his characters timeless." including a West Coast premiere at the International City Theater in 2008.

The Teahouse of the August Moon

Play · 1953

In the aftermath of World War II, the island of Okinawa was occupied by the American military. Captain Fisby, a young army officer, is transferred to a tiny Okinawa island town called Tobiki by his commanding officer, Colonel Purdy. Fisby is tasked with the job of implementing "Plan B". The plan calls for teaching the natives all things American and the first step for Capt. Fisby is to establish a democratically elected mayor, chief of agriculture, chief of police, and president of the Ladies League for Democratic Action. Plan "B" also calls for the building of a schoolhouse (Pentagon shaped), democracy lessons, and establishing capitalism through means left up to the good captain's judgment. A local Tobiki native, Sakini by name, is assigned to act as Fisby's interpreter. Sakini, a Puck-like character, attempts to acquaint Fisby with the local customs as well as guide the audiences through the play, providing both historical and cultural framework through his asides and monologues. After receiving many gifts from the villagers, including a geisha named Lotus Blossom, Fisby tries to find local products on which to build his capitalist endeavor. He is discouraged when the villagers can not find a market for their handmade products, items like geta (wooden sandals), lacquered bowls, cricket cages, and casas (straw hats). He is also frustrated when the newly elected democratic government votes to build a teahouse (ochaya) for Lotus Blossom with the building supplies designated for his Pentagon-shaped school. Through the villagers, Captain Fisby starts to see the beauty of preserving their culture and a slower way of life. He agrees to build the teahouse and even lands on a moneymaking product – sweet potato brandy. Soon the Cooperative Brewing Company of Tobiki is churning out liquor by the gallon and selling it to all the neighboring military bases. The gala opening of the teahouse is the moment when Colonel Purdy decides to make his progress inspection and finds Captain Fisby serenading the villagers in his bathrobe with a rendition of "Deep in the Heart of Texas". He is in danger of court martial and reprimanded for misusing government supplies, selling liquor and "not turning the villagers into Americans fast enough". Col. Purdy orders the destruction of all the stills and the teahouse. Sakini and the villagers outsmart the colonel and only pretend to destroy everything, instead hiding everything "quick as the dickens". Their foresight proves fortuitous when Purdy learns that Congress is about to use Tobiki as a model for the success of Plan B. The villagers rebuild the teahouse on stage, and even offer a cup to Col. Purdy in a gesture of goodwill. Like all great comedies, in the end, all is forgiven. The village returns to the rich life they once knew (plus a teahouse, export industry, and geishas), Fisby is touted a hero, and Purdy, we hope will get a brigadier general's star for his wife Grace after all. Set in the time-frame of the aftermath of World War II and U.S. occupation of the Japanese islands, Teahouse of the August Moon is a comedy whose laughs come from the inability of the American characters to understand Tobiki culture and tradition. However, it is not just a story of culture clash. Through the character of Fisby, we see acceptance and the beauty of making peace with oneself somewhere between ambition and limitations. We also learn, like Fisby, that sometimes the better life is had by taking a "step backward in the right direction".

The Temperamental Journey

Play · 1913

The play was never published; this synopsis is compiled from contemporaneous newspaper and magazine reviews. Act I (Front patio of the Italian Inn, late afternoon.) Jacques Dupont is discouraged when Dorval, who has purchased some of his prior works at very low prices, decides not to buy any more. His supposed friend Vernon Neil urges him to paint in a more popular style, but Jacques refuses to compromise. Maria Tamburri momentarily lifts his spirits when she gives him $285 from "a gentleman in a motor car" who bought two of his paintings. But Billy Shepherd accidentally reveals there was no sale; Maria gave Jacques her savings and the two paintings are in her room. Jacques gives Maria her money back but tells her to keep the pictures. Hungry, he goes to eat his supper at the inn, but finds that Delphine has already eaten both dinners. She nags him about his inability to sell canvases, comparing him unfavorably to Neil. Depressed, with evening dark approaching, Jacques wanders down to the pier where he leaves his hat and coat, the latter with a suicide note in it. He walks off the pier into the water. (Curtain) Act II (The Greenwich Village studio shared by Dupont and Shepherd, two weeks later.) A body having been found, Delphine has identified it as her husband. Now that he is dead, public opinion on Jacques Dupont's work has reversed. His paintings are esteemed and command high prices. Dorval now regrets not buying the last two works offered him, but Maria refuses to sell them. Billy Shepherd is too sorrowful to attend the funeral, so Fanny Lamont will go instead. The funeral cortège includes an art museum director and other notables. A wreath with the message "Rest in Peace" is in the studio. Delphine asks Fanny to have the florist add a postscript: "Until I Come". Left alone in the studio at last, Billy is surprised to hear someone come in from the bath: It is Jacques! Dupont explains that once in the water he started swimming and couldn't stop. A passing yacht rescued him on its way to Halifax, Nova Scotia. It took Jacques two weeks to make his return to Manhattan. As Billy and Jacques watch the funeral from the studio window, Jacques wants to reveal himself. But when he sees his widow embracing Neil, he decides to stay "dead". He leaves for France instead. (Curtain) Act III (The drawing room of the Shepherd's new home, three years later.) Billy having made a success with composing music, he and Fanny have married and bought a house in Manhattan. Wearing a disguise and calling himself "M. Lenoire", an art collector, Jacques has brought thirty original Dupont canvases to America. He visits the Shepherds, who previously alerted, have assembled some wealthy art patrons to view them, and invited Maria. However, Delphine and her new husband Neil crash the private showing. She has six of Neil's paintings upon which she has forged Dupont's signature. Outraged, Jacques reveals himself, and chaos ensues. The practical Fanny and calm Billy broker a peace agreement: Jacques and Delphine will get a quiet divorce, he will give her some money, then he and Maria will marry and return to France. (Curtain)

The Temperamentals

Play · 2009

The Temperamentals is a 2009 play by Jon Marans. It chronicles the founding of the Mattachine Society, the first sustained LGBT rights organization in the United States, and the love affair of two of its founding members, Harry Hay (Thomas Jay Ryan) and Rudi Gernreich (Michael Urie). The title is drawn from the early-20th Century usage of the word "temperamental" as slang for "homosexual". After premiering at The Barrow Group Studio Theater in April 2009, the play began previews off-Broadway at New World Stages on February 18, 2010 and premiered February 28. Producers Darryl Roth and Stacy Shane announced that The Temperamentals would close May 30.

The Tempest

Play · 1611

Twelve years after his brother Antonio usurped his dukedom, Prospero conjures a storm that strands Antonio, King Alonso and their companions on the island where he lives with Miranda, Ariel and Caliban. Prospero uses magic to test the shipwrecked group: Ferdinand falls in love with Miranda, while Antonio and Sebastian plot against Alonso and Caliban conspires with the drunken Stephano and jester Trinculo. Prospero abandons revenge, forgives his enemies, regains Milan, frees Ariel and prepares to leave the island with Miranda and Ferdinand.

The Tender Trap

Play · 1954

Charlie Reader lives in a terrace apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side, overlooking the Queensboro Bridge. He is a bachelor, a transplant from the Midwest, who has no need to go out and find female companionship... they come to him. At 6pm on a Saturday evening he is necking with one Poppy Matson on his living room couch, when old buddy Joe McCall shows up unexpectedly. McCall is a chemist who has invented a pill to cure the common cold. He's come to visit Charlie to get ideas about testing and marketing it. Charlie welcomes him and introduces Poppy, and later his other girl friends. Joe is astonished at how the girls show up to clean Charlie's apartment, cook him meals, and bring him gifts like fish and cheese. Poppy, Jessica, and Sylvia have good careers but are feeling the urge to get married now that they are in their early thirties. The fourth and youngest girl friend, Julie Gillis, is equally in pursuit of Charlie but won't fall in line with his suggestions. The constant parade of femininity affects Joe, who up till now had entertained no stray thoughts about his marriage. He begins gravitating towards Sylvia, while Charlie finds himself more and more intrigued with Julie. Earl Lindquist finds Joe's pills are worthless, so there's no longer a reason for him to stay, but Charlie, under the press of unexpected competition blurts out a proposal to Sylvia. Aghast, he realizes the only thing to do is proposed to Julie as well. Joe, trying to stave off his return to wife and family, makes a half-hearted play for Sylvia. She forcefully reminds him about his wife, and decides Charlie isn't for her either, and so walks out on both men. Julie, however, has no intention of letting pride get between her and Charlie, and so the play ends with their engagement.

The Thirteenth Chair

Play · 1916

Act I (The Italian room of the Crosby mansion, New York City, evening.) The play opens just after dinner has finished and the guests are coming into the Italian room. Mrs. Crosby assures Will and Nell everyone is already aware of their impending marriage, but Edward Wales won't congratulate them. He has reason, he tells an upset Will. As the other guests stroll in, Pollock announces the arrival of Rosalie La Grange. Though baited by Miss Eastwood, Rosalie holds her own, disclosing how other mediums do their tricks, and promising tonight will be straight. Helen O'Neill and Rosalie have a brief aside, in which only the audience learns they are daughter and mother. Chairs are placed in a circle for the seance. Crosby has Pollock lock all the doors from the outside. As they sit, Miss Erskine observes they are thirteen. Rosalie is tied hands and ankles to her chair. The lights are turned out; Rosalie moans and speaks in the voice of a little girl. She says Spencer Lee wants Ned to ask who killed him. Edward Wales does, but before an answer comes he shrieks and collapses forward. The light is turned on, and the circle broken. Crosby orders Pollock, standing just outside the room, to phone the police and keep the doors locked until they arrive. (Curtain) Act II (Same, 10 minutes later.) Edward's body has been moved to a settee and covered with a drape. Rosalie is still tied in chair. Inspector Donohue and Sgt. Dunn arrive and are briefed by Mr. Crosby, with pointed interjections by both Miss Eastwood and Rosalie. The settee with the body is taken to another room. Rosalie helps rearrange the guests around the chairs in the order they were during the murder, but she tries to place her daughter Helen away from where Wales sat. Donohue traps Helen O'Neill into confessing her relationship to Rosalie. As no knife has been discovered, Donohue summons Mrs. MacPherson to search the ladies while Sgt. Dunn searches the men, to no avail. (Curtain) Act III (Same, 30 minutes later.) Inspector Donahue now reveals Helen O'Neill's fingerprints match those on items in Spencer Lee's room. Rosalie insists Nell is innocent, and persuades her to reveal who she is protecting. Nell says Helen Trent asked her to recover letters she wrote to Spencer. But Helen Trent flatly denies it, startling Helen O'Neill. Donohue is set to arrest Nell, but Rosalie asks him for time to expose the real murderer. Summoning everyone back to the room, Rosalie goes into a trance. Suddenly the voice of Edward Wales is heard, proclaiming the last to enter is the killer. As that person steps into the room, the knife falls at their feet from where it had been thrown into the ceiling. The murderer then confesses to both crimes. As Dunn removes them, Donohue shakes Rosalie's hand. (Curtain)

The Three Per Cents

Play · 1803

The Three Per Cents is an 1803 comedy play by the British writer Frederick Reynolds. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 12 November 1803. The original cast included George Frederick Cooke as Sandy McTack, John Fawcett as George McTack, Joseph Shepherd Munden as Sir Peter Presser, Charles Kemble as Colonel Dorimant, Charles Murray as Major Seymour, Samuel Simmons as Pallet, Charles Farley as Witling, Maria Gibbs as Lady Delamere and Harriet Siddons as Rosalie. The title refers to consols, a form of financial investment in the British national debt which returned three percent interest.

The Three Strangers

Play · 1825

The Three Strangers is an 1825 stage melodrama by the British writer Harriet Lee. It was based on one of her own works, Kruitzner, co-written as part of The Canterbury Tales with her sister Sophia. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 10 December 1825. The cast included James Prescott Warde as Kruitzner, Daniel Egerton as Baron Stralenheim, Charles Kemble as Conrad, John Cooper as the Hungarian, George Bartley as Idenstein, William Blanchard as the Intendant, William Claremont as Weilberg, William Chapman as Herman, Louisa Chatterley as Josephine and Julia Glover as Mrs Weilberg. A relative disappointment, the play was performed four times and Lee retired after this.

The Three and the Deuce

Play · 1795

The Three and the Deuce is a 1795 English afterpiece with libretto by Prince Hoare and music by Stephen Storace. It was first performed at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on 2 September 1795. It was later revived at Drury Lane, and "with great success" by Robert William Elliston. Some sources suggest it was originally not very popular but grew into a very favorably received piece. The piece was known for having one actor play three different roles, the three "Singles". One song in the piece. "Little Taffline", is referenced in the Dickens' novel David Copperfield. The Memoirs of John Bannister published in 1839, provide this summary of the play: Toward the close of the season, (2nd September,) "The Three and the Deuce," a new comedy by Prince Hoare, called forth Bannister's versatile powers. The author has placed in the same inn at Cheltenham three brothers, Pertinax, Peregrine, and Percival Single, not less alike than the Menaechmi of Plautus, or the Antipholises of Shakspeare, but very different in their propensities. Pertinax is studious, grave, sententious; Peregrine volatile, active, enterprising; while poor Percival, a mere idiot, is only permitted to leave home under the protection of an Irish tutor (God save the mark!) named Mac Floggum. Bannister played the three brothers, and preserved, with admirable fidelity, their separate identity. The mistakes and confusion which arise from each being seen separately, and mistaken for one of the others, form an amusing, and sometimes interesting entanglement. Grizzle, a servant of Pertinax, is driven almost beyond his senses at the unexpected sallies of his master; and, at last, Percival is rescued from the stern dominion of Mac Floggum, to undergo a more gentle captivity with Taffline, an interesting little Welsh girl, admirably played by Mrs. Bland. The piece was very favourably received; and Bannister, and, after him, Elliston, acquired great applause in the three Singles. The story was said in contemporary British sources to directly derive from the Spanish comedy Los Tres Mellizos popular in Madrid, though remodeled and made English by Hoare. Italian playwright Antonio Collalto wrote Tre gemelli veneziani (Three Venetian Twins) in 1773, which was inspired by The Venetian Twins (1747) by Carlo Goldoni, but to which the twins were made into triplets., The Collalto play was translated into French by P.-A. Lefèvre de Marcouville as Les Trois Jumeaux Vénitiens, and the Spanish translation upon which Hoare is said to have relied was Los Tres Mellizos.

The Time of Your Life

Play · 1939

The play is set in Nick's Pacific Street Saloon, Restaurant and Entertainment Palace, a run-down dive bar in San Francisco. Much of the action of the play centers around Joe, a young loafer with money who encourages each of the bar's patrons in their eccentricities. Joe helps out a would-be dancer, Harry, and sets up his flunky, Tom, with a prostitute, Kitty Duval. The bar is frequented by a number of colorful characters, including a frenetic young man in love, an old man who looks like Kit Carson, and a wealthy society couple. Nick's saloon is based on the café operated by Izzy Gomez in San Francisco, which Saroyan frequented.

The Ton

Play · 1788

The Ton is a 1788 comedy play by the Scottish writer Eglantine Wallace. The title is a reference to the Ton, the fashionable social elite. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 8 April 1788. The original cast included Ralph Wewitzer as Lord Bonton, William Farren as Lord Raymond, Alexander Pope as Lord Ormond, Charles Lee Lewes as Captain Daffodil, John Henry Johnstone as MacPharo, Francis Aickin as Villiers, James Fearon as Truffly, John Quick as Ben Levy, Isabella Mattocks as Lady Bonton, Jane Pope as Lady Raymond, Ann Brunton as Lady Clairville, Mary Wells as Clara and Charlotte Morton as Mademoiselle.

The Touchstone

Play · 1817

The Touchstone is an 1817 comedy play by the British writer James Kenney. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 3 May 1817. The original cast included Charles Holland as Finesse, James William Wallack as Garnish, John Pritt Harley as Paragon, William Dowton as Probe, William Oxberry as Croply, Frances Maria Kelly as Dinah Croply, Sarah Harlowe as Mrs. Fairweather and Frances Alsop as Miss Becky. Its Irish debut was at Dublin's Crow Street Theatre on 16 February 1818. The play was reviewed by William Hazlitt in A View of the English Stage. He wrote it "has been acted here with great success. It possesses much liveliness and pleasantry in the incidents, and the dialogue is neat and pointed" and considered "the character of Dinah Croply, which is admirably sustained by Miss Kelly, is the chief attraction of the piece".

The Town Shifts

Play · 1671

The Town Shifts; Or, The Suburb-Justice is a 1671 comedy play by Edward Revet. It was originally staged by the Duke's Company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London. It is part of the tradition of Restoration Comedy. The original cast included Philip Cademan as Lovewell, Matthew Medbourne as Friendly, Edward Angel as Leftwell, Henry Norris as Pett, Samuel Sandford as Frump, Joseph Williams as Moses, Mary Lee as Leticia, Elinor Leigh as Betty and Jane Long as Fickle.

The Traitor

Play · 1718

The Traitor (often spelt as The Traytor) is a tragedy published anonymously in 1718 and commonly attributed to the British writer and actor Christopher Bullock. It is a revised version of the 1631 play of the same title by James Shirley. It was Bullock's only effort to write tragedy, as his other works were all farces. It was staged at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre with a cast that included John Leigh as the Duke, Lacy Ryan as Sciarrah, James Quin as Lorenzo, Christopher Bullock as Cosmo, John Egleton as Florio, Thomas Smith as Pisano, William Bullock as Depazzi, Thomas Smith as Pisano, John Ogden as Petruchio, Jane Rogers as Amidea, Anna Maria Seymour as Oriana and Mary Kent as Orian's Mother. Lasting six performances on its original run, it was revived again in 1719 and 1720, with much the same cast. No further attempts were made to stage either this play or Shirley's original for more than a century.

The Trial of God (as it was held on February 25, 1649, in Shamgorod)

Play · 1979 est

After a pogrom devastates the fictional village of Shamgorod, three wandering minstrels arrive at the inn of Berish, one of the few survivors. The characters decide to hold a Purim trial accusing God of permitting the massacre, while Berish's daughter Hanna bears its trauma. The play presents the trial as a tragic farce and asks whether suffering can be reconciled with divine justice.

The Trial of Mary Dugan

Play · 1927

The Trial of Mary Dugan is a play written by Bayard Veiller. The 1927 melodrama concerns a sensational courtroom trial of a showgirl accused of killing her millionaire lover. Her defense attorney is her brother, Jimmy Dugan. It was first presented on Broadway in 1927, with Ann Harding in the title role, and in London in 1928 with Genevieve Tobin. Two American films were based on the play, one in 1929 directed by Bayard Veiller and starring Norma Shearer, and one in 1941 directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Laraine Day. The play was performed at the Savoy Theatre, Strand, London, during 1958. Presented by Peter Saunders, it featured Betsy Blair, David Knight, Cec Linder and Patricia Burke. During the action, the audience was addressed as if it were the jury. The Broadway production premiered at the National Theatre on September 19, 1927, moved to the Sam H. Harris Theatre on June 11, 1928, and then to the Century Theatre from September 3–19, 1928, for a total of 437 performances. A novelization of the play, by William Almon Wolff, was published in 1929. Ayn Rand’s Night of January 16th is reported to have been modeled on this play.

The Trip to Bountiful

Play · 1953

The Trip to Bountiful is a play by American playwright Horton Foote. It was first performed on March 1, 1953, on NBC television before premiering on the Broadway stage in November 1953. The play depicts an elderly woman, Carrie Watts, "who has to live with a daughter-in-law who hates her and a son who does not dare take her side." While residing with this unhappy family in a Houston apartment, Watts dreams of returning to the tiny town of Bountiful, Texas where she was raised. She manages to escape the apartment and embarks by bus to her destination. She meets several people along the way. Her stay in Bountiful is brief as she is whisked back to Houston by her son and daughter-in-law. The play was adapted into a film of the same name, released in 1985.

The Trojan War Will Not Take Place

Play · 1935

The play takes place the day before the outbreak of the Trojan War inside the gates of the city of Troy. It follows the struggle of the disillusioned Trojan military commander Hector, supported by the women of Troy, as he tries to avoid war with the Greeks. Hector's wife Andromache is pregnant, and this reinforces his desire for peace. Along with his worldly-wise mother Hecuba, Hector leads the anti-war argument and tries to persuade his brother Paris to return Paris's beautiful but vapid captive Helen to Greece. Giraudoux presents Helen as not only an object of desire, but the epitome of destiny itself. She claims that she can see the future by seeing what is coloured in her mind, and she sees war. For Hector, Helen means only war and destruction. But for the other Trojan men, led by the poet Demokos, she represents an opportunity for glory; and they are eager to have others fight a war in her name. The peace agreement Hector negotiates with the visiting Greek commander Ulysses, is no match for Demokos' deliberate lies, and at the end of the play, the seer Cassandra's cynical prediction that war cannot be avoided has been proven right.

The Truth About Blayds

Play · 1921

At his house in Portman Square, London, the famous poet Oliver Blayds is celebrating his 90th birthday. The literary critic A. L. Royce has come to present an address on behalf of his fellow writers to Blayds, who is regarded as "a very great poet, a very great philosopher and a very great man … simple as Wordsworth, sensuous as Tennyson, passionate as Swinburne". Royce has lingering feelings for Isobel Blayds, whom he met 18 years earlier when they were both about 20. She declined his offer of marriage then because she felt she must look after her father. The poet's grandchildren are cheerfully indifferent to his literary reputation, and treat him with affectionate irreverence, to Royce's disapproval. The family gathers, and after his health is toasted Blayds graciously accepts the address from Royce. He reminisces about his earlier days in Victorian times with anecdotes about Browning, Whistler, Queen Victoria and Meredith. After the celebrations, Blayds is left alone with Isobel, who has looked after him all her adult life. He says at ninety there is no going back: "Only forward – into the grave that's waiting for you". In the second act the family returns from Blayds's funeral at Westminster Abbey. Isobel reveals that on his deathbed Blayds confessed to her that none of the poems for which he is famous were written by him. They were the work of Willoughby Jenkins, a close friend with whom he shared rooms in Islington in the 1850s. Jenkins, a young poetic genius, knew he was dying and wrote a prodigious amount of poetry while he had time. After he died, Blayds yielded to the temptation to publish a small amount of Jenkins's verse under his own name. It was so well received that he continued the deception and published further batches over the years, gaining a tremendous literary reputation and making a large fortune. The one volume he published of his own verse had been badly reviewed and otherwise his entire poetic oeuvre was the work of his dead friend. Isobel is bitter at having given up any independent life to look after her fraudulent father. William, who hero-worshipped his father-in-law, is incredulous, and agrees with Oliver that Blayds must have been hallucinating on his deathbed. The family agonise about whether the confession is true, and if so whether to reveal the truth publicly, and whether the old man's fortune properly belongs to Jenkins's heirs. Royce, to whom Isobel has turned for help, finds documentary proof that Jenkins left everything he had to Blayds. The family is legally in the clear, but the moral issue remains. William continues to maintain Blayds's innocence, and Isobel eventually gives way and agrees to say nothing publicly about her father's confession. At the end of the play she accepts a proposal of marriage from Royce.

The Tunnel of Love

Play · 1957

The play opens in Augie's studio with a brief prologue, in which Isolde is furious with Augie over some unknown transgression. She is also unhappy about living in a bedroom community, and wants to return to Manhattan. Alice and Dick Pepper offer unwanted support. Isolde storms out, followed shortly by the Peppers. Augie delivers a self-pitying speech to the empty set, trying to explain to the absent Isolde just how this all started a year ago... (Blackout) An afternoon in June. Alice and Dick bring champagne to Augie's studio for the Poole's 5th anniversary. Augie returns from Manhattan, having failed to sell cartoons to The New Yorker. He calls Dr. Vancouver's office trying to find Isolde. Dick admires Augie's latest cartoon idea, but not the drawing. He tries to get Augie to sell his ideas, but Augie dislikes being a "gagman". He asks the Peppers to leave and Alice does, but Dick stays behind. Dick phones the Westport Arms and makes a date with Terry McBain, a young libretist he knows. Augie and Dick argue about Dick's playing around. Isolde returns from shopping in the city. Alice comes back to congratulate Isolde on the anniversary. Isolde announces they are going to apply for adoption at the Rock-a-bye agency, using the Peppers as references. Dick is alarmed at being checked on by a case worker and decides to cancel his date. Alice and Isolde return from the bedroom, and the Peppers leave the studio. Isolde and Augie argue about the precise timing of lovemaking that Dr Vancouver's fertility program requires. Augie pleads for natural methods. Isolde pouts but changes into an enticing outfit. They reconcile, and Augie mentions giving up drawing and just selling his ideas. Isolde forbids it, and the couple embraces. (Curtain) The next day. Augie is in his studio battling a mouse. Dick comes in, and Augie chides him again for playing around. Dick leaves in a huff then Isolde comes in. Isolde reveals she is aware of Dick's philandering. She expresses relief that Augie is "normal", upsetting Augie who feels he has neuroses like other artists. He goes to take a shower; Alice rushes in to say Estelle Novick, the investigator from Rock-a-bye has just interviewed her. Alice hides bottles from the bar and the two women rush into the bedroom. Augie emerges from the bathroom, sans pants, furiously trying to hit a mouse with his slipper. Noticing the empty bar counter, he finds a hidden Scotch bottle and picks it up. Hearing the doorbell, he wraps a towel around him and answers it, still holding the bottle. It is the caseworker, Estelle Novick, but Augie doesn't recognize the name. His partially-clothed state and the bottle in his hand make a poor impression on her, as does his reference, Dick Pepper, who comes back in and immediately suggests a get together. Miss Novick reveals she is from Rock-a-bye. Both men plead with her as she starts to leave. Isolde and Alice return to the studio, and greet Miss Novick. They are surprised at her quick departure and interrogate their spouses. Isolde is furious with Augie; she and Alice leave for the Pepper's house. Dick explains to Augie the complicated balance between his cheating and his guilt feelings. He suggests Augie's inhibitions are preventing Isolde from conceiving and recommends his friend have an affair himself to "loosen up". Augie throws hims out then tries to call Isolde at the Pepper's. Alice and Isolde's' voices are heard through the speaker phone. Isolde rejects his suggestion that the two of them go out alone and hangs up. There is a knock on the front door; Estelle Novick has returned on a personal visit. Her dissertation is on sexual mores of New England, and she has decided Augie would make a good test subject. They share a few double scotch drinks; Augie is delighted when she picks up one of his drawings and laughs. They embrace and kiss. (Curtain) Three months later (Late September). On a Sunday morning, Isolde and Augie read the papers. Isolde wonders why they haven't heard from any of the adoption agencies to which they applied. After she leaves, Dick comes in, having been summoned by Augie. Augie confesses to having had a single encounter with Miss Novick three months back, from which she has become pregnant. He tells Dick he'll sign the "ideas" only contract with The Townsman for a $1000 advance. Dick reluctantly agrees and writes the check which Augie takes. Alice and Isolde come into the studio. Augie leaves to meet Miss Novick, however they have missed connections and she turns up at the studio. Dick is alarmed, but the two wives are delighted. Miss Novick assures them a baby may become available in six months, but doesn't reveal her own condition or Augie's slip. Augie returns to the studio, and is under great stress finding Miss Novick there. She asks to speak with Augie privately so the others leave. Augie gives her the check and she assures him they won't meet again, as she will leave for New Zealand after the birth. Miss Novick then tells him a folk-saying from Poland, without translating then leaves. (Curtain) Six months later (March). Isolde confronts Augie and Dick separately about a tax slip from The Townsman that shows Augie earned a $1000 more than expected. They offer conflicting explanations which Isolde plainly doesn't believe. Isolde tells Augie and Dick about an adoption prospect mentioned by Dr. Vancouver. After she leaves however, Augie reveals himself obsessed with adopting his own child. Alice, having had delivered the Pepper's latest baby sometime ago, fetches Dick back home to help care for it. Isolde returns to a tender scene with Augie, where he admires her understanding and forgiveness. Dick has slipped away from Alice again and returned to the studio. Isolde leaves him alone with Augie. Augie phones Dr. Vancouver, who is heard over the speaker phone saying the adoption prospect he knew of is no longer available. Miss McCracken knocks at the door. After meeting Augie and Dick, the former fetches Isolde, and Alice wanders in as well. All four of them sit and listen as Miss McCracken announces the Pooles have been selected to receive a baby boy. She says the mother is a doctoral candidate and the father a weak figure married to someone else. The act ends as both couples exit with Miss McCracken to pick up the infant. (Curtain) One month later (April). The two couples are in the studio, where a bassinet now resides. Isolde hold up a baby photo and asks everyone what they think of it. Told it is a good likeness of Augie Jr, Isolde announces its actually an old baby photo of Augie Sr, sent by his mother through the mail. Isolde confronts Augie, accusing him of being the father of the baby. Abashed, Augie can only hold his hands out in supplication. Isolde will have none of it, and we see the four characters assuming their starting positions from Act One, Scene 1 and the dialogue is repeated up to the point where Isolde leaves the studio. (Blackout) When the lights come up, Augie is alone. Miss McCracken appears at the door, to remind Augie that the Poole's are on probation and will be checked on regularly for a year. She leaves and Isolde comes in, determined to leave. She insists she'll bicycle away and leaves; off stage a crashing noise is heard. Augie rushes out and returns carrying Isolde, who has a sprained ankle. They argue about calling a doctor, while Augie fetches a first-aid kit. While he tapes the ankle he expounds his devotion to her. She tries to push him away, but injury and reluctance for throwing away six years of marriage causes her to reconsider. They reconcile; when Isolde suddenly asks Augie to run out and buy some Chinese food, he realises she must be pregnant. Augie declares they will move back to Manhattan to raise their children. They embrace and play ends.

The Turn of the Screw

Play · 1996

The Turn of the Screw is a theatrical adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher of the 1898 novella of the same name by Henry James. Hatcher developed the adaptation with the Portland Stage Company as part of its Little Festival of the Unexpected program in 1995, and it debuted at the company's home theater in Portland, Maine on January 11, 1996. In 1999, the play was staged Off-Broadway by the Primary Stages company. Director Melia Bensussen won an Obie Award for the Primary Stages production.

The Twilight of the Golds

Play · 1993

The controversial dramedy tackles the issue of fictional genetic testing that would determine the sexual orientation of an unborn child. When Suzanne Gold-Stein discovers her son is destined to be gay, she considers aborting the fetus, much to the dismay of her gay brother David, whose sexual orientation has never been fully accepted by his conservative family. In the stage version, she has the abortion late in the pregnancy, resulting in her inability to bear any more children, as well as David's estrangement from the family. In the film version, Suzanne chooses to have the baby, though this leads to a break-up with her husband, who does not wish to raise a gay son.

The Twin Rivals

Play · 1702

The Twin Rivals is a 1702 comedy play by the Irish writer George Farquhar. It was one of the author's least successful plays. A younger son schemes to cheat his elder brother out of the family estate. The original Drury Lane cast featured Robert Wilks as Elder Woudbee, Colley Cibber as younger Woudbee, Benjamin Husband as Richemore, John Mills as Trueman, William Pinkethman as Subtleman, Benjamin Johnson as Balderdash, William Bowen as Teague, Jane Rogers as Constance, Mary Hook as Aurelia, William Bullock as Mandrake and Henrietta Moore as Steward's wife. The prologue was written by Peter Anthony Motteux. In 1981 it was revived by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The Unconquered

Play · 1939

In the Russian winter of 1924, Leo Kovalensky returns to his apartment in Petrograd after spending two months in jail. The Soviet government has executed his father and expropriated his family's property, including the apartment building. Leo's lover, Kira Argounova, welcomes him home and moves in with him, despite his status as a suspected counter-revolutionary. A few months later, a panel led by Pavel Syerov questions Kira. They are evaluating the ideological suitability of students at the college where she studies engineering. She admits her bourgeois heritage and refuses to become an informant against Leo. Andrei Taganov, a GPU officer, expels her. After the meeting, Andrei tells Kira that he admires the bravery she showed in defying the panel. He hopes that in a future world everyone can express themselves openly, but until then people like her must suffer. Since she will lose her ration card for being expelled, he offers to get her a job in a railroad office. Kira begs officials in the railroad office to help Leo go to a sanatorium in Crimea for treatment of tuberculosis he contracted while in jail. They refuse to help a former aristocrat. Andrei comes to the office with Stepan Timoshenko to confront Andrei's old friend Syerov with evidence that he helps smuggle black market goods. Syerov promises to end his involvement. Kira asks Andrei for his help with Leo. He refuses, but when Kira becomes upset, he kisses her and admits he has been thinking about her since their previous meeting. Kira tells Andrei she loves him, but no one must know of their affair. The second act begins six months later. Syerov is in charge of the railroad office and conspires with another official, Karp Morozov, to divert food shipments for the black market. They arrange for Leo, who has just returned from his treatment in Crimea (secretly funded by Andrei's gifts to Kira), to open a store that will sell the stolen goods. Kira warns Leo that his involvement could lead him to a firing squad. Andrei, who has supported Kira as his mistress, proposes marriage. In response, she suggests they should break up. He tells her it is too late for them to separate, because she has changed his view of life. Timoshenko brings Andrei evidence of Syerov and Morozov's ongoing black market activities. Kira realizes this will implicate Leo as well. She asks Andrei to drop the case, but he refuses. Syerov and Morozov are arrested, but are not charged because they have influence with the local GPU chief. The chief orders Andrei to arrest Leo for a show trial and execution. Andrei is disillusioned by the corruption he has witnessed. When he goes to Leo's home to make the arrest, he discovers that Kira also lives there. In the third act, after Leo's arrest, Kira finds Andrei preparing for a speech to a Communist Party meeting. She declares she is proud that she did what was necessary to save Leo from tuberculosis, and she expresses contempt for the Communist ideology that would have let him die. Andrei says he understands and accepts responsibility for making her suffer. When she leaves, Andrei confronts Syerov and insists that he use his influence to secure Leo's release. When Andrei gives his speech, he deviates from his prepared remarks to speak in favor of freedom and individualism. Andrei commits suicide, and afterwards Kira admits to Leo that she was Andrei's mistress. Leo tells her that he is leaving town with Antonina Pavlovna, Morozov's former mistress, to be her gigolo. Kira says she will also leave to attempt an escape across the border. Leo warns that she will be killed, but she says she has already lost everything that matters, except her human spirit.

The Unhappy Favourite

Play · 1681

The Unhappy Favourite; Or, The Earl Of Essex is a 1681 tragedy by the English writer John Banks. It was originally staged by the King's Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. It portrays the downfall of the Earl of Essex, favourite of Elizabeth I, and his subsequent execution following Essex's Rebellion. The first Drury Lane cast included Thomas Clark as The Earl of Essex, Philip Griffin as Earl of Southampton, Michael Mohun as Burleigh, Thomas Disney as Sir Walter Raleigh, Anne Marshall as Queen Elizabeth, Sarah Cooke as Countess of Rutland and Mary Corbett as Countess of Nottingham. John Dryden wrote a special prologue for a performance attended by Charles II and his wife Catherine of Braganza. Banks dedicated the published version of 1682 to Princess Anne, niece of the king, who herself later came to the throne. The play was revived numerous times during the following century. In 1731 James Ralph wrote The Fall of the Earl of Essex, borrowing heavily from Banks.

The Unhappy Penitent

Play · 1701

The Unhappy Penitent is a 1701 tragedy by the English writer Catherine Trotter. It is set at the French court of the late fifteenth century where Charles VIII plans to break his marriage agreement with Margaret of Austria so that he can make a dynastic union with Anne of Brittany acquiring the Duchy of Brittany for France. The original Drury Lane cast included Robert Wilks as the Duke of Lorraine, John Mills as Charles VIII, Joseph Williams as the Archduke of Austria, Thomas Smith as Brisson, Philip Griffin as the Duke of Brittanie, Thomas Simpson as Du Law, Henry Fairbank as Neapolitan Lord, Jane Rogers as Margarita, Anne Oldfield as Anne and Mary Powell as Madame de Bourboun.

The Uninvited Guest

Play · 1953

The Uninvited Guest is a 1953 play by the British writer Mary Hayley Bell. It premiered at the Kings Theatre, Southsea before transferring to St James's Theatre in the West End where it ran for 21 performances between 27 May and 13 June 1953. The West End cast included John Mills, Joan Greenwood, Cathleen Nesbitt, Clive Morton, and Lyndon Brook. Mills, who was married to the playwright, played a son returning home after some time spent in an insane asylum. A review in The Spectator described it as a "modern and much diminished version of Oedipus emerging out of a background suggestive of Lady Chatterley's Lover".

The Universal Gallant

Play · 1735

The Universal Gallant, or The Different Husbands is a 1735 comedy play by the British writer Henry Fielding. The original Drury Lane cast included James Quin as Mondish, William Mills as Gaylove, Theophilus Cibber as Captain Spark, Benjamin Griffin as Sir Simon Raffler, John Harper as Colonel Raffler and Mary Heron as Mrs Raffler. Fielding dedicated the work to Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough. It was not a success and met a hostile reception its opening night, and lasted for only three performances.

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