http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/47779480

Life is short : eight short comedies

"This ... collection of short plays is a comical look at relationships from childhood to old age. Some are charming and light, others dark and absurdist, but all eight gleefully portray people at their worst. And sometimes their best. CLASS CONFLICT. Billy is a shy, sweet six-year old, nervous about his first day of school. His new classmate Megan Devenaux is a pint-sized lawyer, who considers herself an adult already, and is ready to take her case to the Supreme Court and then cash in. (1M, 1W.) ON THE EDGE. There's a party inside, but Gene, seventeen, stands on the ledge of an apartment building. Distraught because the girl he loves is making out with someone, Gene is ready to jump. Sammy, a classmate, discovers Gene on the ledge, but, seemingly unconcerned, mocks him for being melodramatic. But as Sammy realizes Gene's pain runs deeper than a girl, will she pull Gene back from the edge? Or push him over? (1M, 1W.) WHATEVER. This sly riff on Poe's "The Raven" finds Jessica hallucinating that a talking pigeon has flown into her apartment. Her friend Liz tries to talk her down, but eventually realizes Jessica isn't suffering from a combination of too much wine and Benedryl but from her inability to let go of a relationship that has ended. (2W.) DOUBLE WEDDING. Deborah is more than a little nervous on her wedding day. Her parents' constant chatter isn't helping. And neither is Deborah's reflection in the mirror, which keeps shouting out her darkest thoughts and worries. Can Deborah calm her fears before her alter ego literally steps through the looking glass and ruins things? (1M, 3W.) INFANT MORALITY. Trish is at the front desk of a hospital when Stephanie comes in carrying a shopping bag from an expensive store. She has something to return. Trish doesn't understand until she looks in the bag and sees a baby. Trish is staggered, but Stephanie can't understand what the problem is. Things get even stranger before the resolution of this black comedy. (1M, 3W.) A MOTHER'S LOVE. In a darkly comic monologue, Melissa calmly explains her reasons for taking a parent's natural desire to protect her child a little too far. (1W.) THE AMERICAN DREAM REVISITED. The American dream is alive and well-if a little twisted-in this absurdist comedy. Somewhere out in a southwestern desert, Jim and Della and their daughter, Chartreuse, decide to ditch Grandpa and leave him there to die. They expect to inherit his money, making their own lives so much more pleasant, but Grandpa has a few tricks up his sleeve. Will anyone get out of this alive? (2M, 2W.) THE LAST DECEMBER. An elderly couple sit at home on a cold winter's night. The old man wants to finish watching his football game, but his wife is trying to get him ready to go out on some errand. The man is angry and bitter, and he clearly doesn't want to go. His patient wife listens but gently prods. But there's more to the old man than meets the eye, and the play ends with surprising sweetness and love. (1M, 1W.)"--Publisher description.

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