THE STORY: In need of a job, a man answers a help wanted ad, and is told to report to a Second Avenue bar at two in the morning. When he arrives only the bartender and a piano player are there—and they are disturbingly vague as to what sort of job is in prospect. Then Nellie Toole, a flamboyant woman haunted by spectres of her mysterious past, arrives, and begins to taunt and then flatter the stranger until he resolves to leave. But the other men bring him back, and a sinister charade commences. It is a reenactment of Nellie’s life, with the stranger forced to portray a key role—and to accept the consequences of the crushing truth which emerges as the play builds in suspense towards its inexorable climax.
“A deftly constructed play of suspense…holds the attention with its games and ruses…” —The New York Times.
“Peter Keveson has written a juicy character role…” —Cue Magazine.
