THE STORY: Sam, a young former policeman who has been drummed out of the force because of suspected corruption, is approached by his father, Mel, to act as a gay decoy to entrap a reportedly homosexual congressman. Mel, a convicted confidence man, is cooperating with the FBI in the hope of having the charges against him dropped, and he has long been aware of his son’s bisexuality—a knowledge which, until now, has been a source of concern and dismay for him. Sam, embittered and empty but still hopeful of regaining his father’s love, agrees to the scam, and the trap is set. But Congressman Gary proves to be much more than just an easy mark, and the sudden, unexpected bond that occurs between him and Sam becomes increasingly poignant with the congressman’s growing realization and resigned acceptance of the manner in which he has been used. He too has lost a son, but somehow, in Sam, he has found him again. As the play ends Mel, strolling on the beach with Sam, also comes to realize that the love of a father for his son transcends expediency and alienation—and he offers no resistance as Sam gently takes away the incriminating videotapes and flings them far out into the implacable silence of the sea.
Using the tenuous relationship between an estranged father and son as a metaphor to illuminate the calculated inhumanity so rife in modern society, this striking play is a study of alienation and of the callous expediency that fosters it.
“The play is a startling, highly original, adult drama about fathers and sons…written in a nervous, quite often lyrical style reminiscent of David Mamet and Sam Shepard.” —Gannett Westchester Newspapers.
“…vivid writing.” —New York Post.
