THE STORY: Austin has spent his entire life convinced that something terrible is bound to happen to him. One night, at a party, overlooking Boston harbor, he has the pleasure of rekindling a romance begun almost thirty years ago with Ruth. Now a multiple divorcee, Ruth’s personal life is in such turmoil that mutual friends look to Austin as Ruth’s last shot at normalcy. At the same time, these friends are hoping the wildly unpredictable Ruth will help loosen Austin from the grip of years of depression and lifelessness. Comically, and sometimes painfully, these two people rediscover each other and themselves while a bevy of free-spirited other guests rally behind them and remind them of the infinite possibilities that life holds, should one only choose to pursue them.
“Charmingly clever yet immeasurably touching.” —New York Post.
“Seldom can a sad story have been told with more fun and humor than this is in A.R. Gurney’s LATER LIFE. There is no dramatist like him on either side of the Atlantic…LATER LIFE is, I think, the best of them all.” —The New Yorker.
“If we could somehow amass in eighty years of living the knowledge of human folly that A.R. Gurney packs into eighty minutes on stage, we could all have an opulent legacy to leave our children…In eighty breathless minutes he vaults from the joyous shiver of renewal to the shudder of lost opportunities, leaving us with an anguished tableau of self-realization. Gurney’s compassion for his characters’ dilemma is infectious; you will find yourself wanting to share your own story with Ruth and Austin by way of comfort. Bring a loved one. You may need a little comforting yourself.” —Newsdays (NY).
