Synopsis
Sleeping Beauty & Smoke
Published by Dramatists Play Service
4 Female
Louise, who wants to decorate the apartment with "balloon men" and pencil drawings, is beginning to feel inhibited by the stodgy demands of her ever practical boyfriend, and dreams of the "other men" in her life, (some of whom she has never even met)
Strangely enough, one by one these men (not to mention one woman), do begin to show up at Louise's door, and beg her to run off with them. Although tempted by their hilarious entreaties, Louise, in the end, decides that she truly loves Malcolm, and that her life should be with him, rather than the crazy collection of characters who have so disconcertingly sprung from her erotic reveries into palpable life.
Produced by New York's Manhattan Punch Line Theatre during their Festival of One-Act Comedies, this zany, totally original short play concerns the ups and downs in the relationship between a creative, whimsical young woman, and her nerdy, straight-laced boyfriend
"slapstick, verbal burlesque" ~ Village Voice
"a wonderful example of the one-act breed" ~ NY Times
Smoke ~ Al Kamen is a man who seems to have life going his way. In a series of fast-paced, comic scenes we see that Al's wife, friends, and employer all think very highly of him, and that he, in turn, has strong, secure relationships with those around him
However, one day Al decides to quit smoking, and that's when everything starts to fall apart for our hero. All of a sudden honesty becomes the name of the game; and in a series of encounters with his wife and friends, we see what Al, and those who surround him, actually think of each other
Pretty soon all of the harsh truths become too much for Al to bear, and he begins smoking again, yearning for the life that he used to lead
As the play ends the stage in engulfed in smoke, with both Al and the audience strangely unsure of what his future will hold for him
Produced with great success at the Philadelphia Festival for New Plays, this clever wickedly funny new comedy (written as a companion piece for Sleeping Beauty) concerns a young executive on the fast track to success, and the strange events that take place in his life once he decides to quit smoking