THE STORY: The scene is a bicycle path in Central Park, where three young cyclists come together each weekend. Philip, an aspiring novelist, is having an affair with Lisa, a photographer, while Michael, a Madison Avenue copywriter, is newly married to the girl with whom he has been living (and who has just run off for a fling with her music teacher). Their meetings are pleasantly casual and filled with crisp, funny lines, but sobering reality pops up when Lisa suggests to Philip that they make their relationship more permanent by exchanging apartment keys—a possibility that disconcerts the freedom-loving Philip, who prefers sex without “commitment.” As Lisa presses her case Philip evades, but then, as Lisa stuns him by electing to turn elsewhere, Philip reverses his field and tries to win her back—but the opportunity has slipped by. Meanwhile Michael’s wife calls to tell him she is coming home—a prospect that, despite the fact they had decided to make their own liaison a lasting one, he can only regard with mixed feelings and even a touch of regret.
This exceptionally bright and witty play explores the romantic pitfalls facing New York’s young “swinging singles” as they deal with the dilemma of entangling commitment versus unencumbered freedom.
“[Kevin Wade is] one fledgling writer who seems to know just what he’s about…the play is flecked with lovely writing.” —The New York Times.
“[Kevin Wade] has a sharp New York eye for character and the ironic vagaries of contemporary man-woman relationships. KEY EXCHANGE is tart, funny and tender, with an undertow of the erotic…” —Time Magazine.
