THE STORY: The time is the 1930s, the scene a theatrical rooming house in New York City, where Daniel Brophy, a stock company actor of long experience, awaits both his wife and his young son and also his “big chance” in a forthcoming Broadway play. Determined to give his family a permanent home and a decent life, Brophy has promised to give up drinking and to make good, at last, on all his many past promises. Leavened by the humor of the warm-hearted landlady, May, all goes well at first, but as the crisis of opening night approaches Brophy’s resolve begins to falter. In the end he buckles under the strain—but perhaps only momentarily, as the final, emotionally searing scene so eloquently and hopefully suggests.
Balancing humor and pathos, this skillfully conceived work probes the touching plight of an insecure actor and his family on the eve of his long-awaited New York debut.
“It is a beautifully human, beautifully simple play that can touch the heart and the funnybone all at the same time.” —Los Angeles Register.
“It is written with profound understanding and compassion.” —Los Angeles Times.
“…beautifully suspends a tiny bit of time like snowflakes in a crystal ball.” —Los Angeles Herald-Examiner.
