THE STORY: As Bill anxiously waits for his unfaithful wife and his furniture, he is visited by Jack, a divorced neighbor who suggests the loneliness of life after marriage. At first Jack appears to be a sitcom character—intrusive, needy, boorish—but gradually Bill’s perception of his new “friend” deepens. While it’s true that Jack managed to lose his wife’s trust and his children’s love, Bill discovers that Jack is wrestling with circumstances that would challenge the best of us. A funny and wistful exploration of love, loss, masculinity, and the needs that bring people together and drive them apart.
“Despite (or maybe it’s because of) its origin in a female mind, this funny, charming, and rather moving little sleeper of a play from Wendy MacLeod probes the vulnerabilities of heterosexual, middle-class, decaying maleness with…good humor, affection and incisive accuracy.” —Chicago Tribune
“Middle-aged male angst isn’t a new subject for contemporary drama, but it’s handled with refreshing subtlety and wit in this serious comedy…sophisticated, with wry observations and literary references…doesn’t lose its black wit.” —Variety.
“MacLeod’s script is by turns acid and tender, and funny in a way that…proceeds powerfully from character and context.” —Chicago Reader.
“Wendy MacLeod is an expert at whipping moods, characters and events around in all sorts of intriguing ways.” —Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
“…truly funny and finally tragic…This is a wonderfully intimate play that doesn’t pummel audiences with emotion, but rather, serves it up subtly through the veil of youthful dreams derailed.” —Sag Harbor Express.
“She’s not only written a probing exploration of the things that matter, but created a marvelously complex and satisfying tour de force for two actors.” —Southampton Press.
