Synopsis
The Coal Diamond
Published by Dramatists Play Service
0 Male 4 Female
The senior member of the group, a wisecracking supervisor who is deferred to by the others, is scornful of an absent colleague, but affable towards the new employee who has volunteered to make a fourth for their game
As the cards are dealt, and sandwiches devoured, small talk abounds - leading, inadvertently, to the unsettling revelation that the man the "new girl" is presently engaged to was once the fiancé of the spinster supervisor
Subtly the mood changes: Pride of place is now suddenly challenged; the supervisor turns sharp and vindictive; the young employee is wary that she may have damaged her hopes for advancement; and the other ladies gloat over the glimpse into a past which, until now, their supervisor has kept safely hidden
This prize-winning short play, which was successfully presented Off-Off-Broadway and also selected by Stanley Richards for his prestigious Best Short Plays series, deals hilariously with a lunchtime bridge game between four gossipy ladies who end up learning more about each other than was originally intended
" it is refreshing, almost indeed shocking, to meet people so specifically alive on the stage" ~ SoHo News
" an unflawed gem" ~ NY Post