Terrence McNally (1938–2020)

This was a solid, dark, and mysteriously revealing play set within the throes of degeneracy and different classes all thrown in together. The plot-line weaves and expands until it throttles the reader with its final developments in the last sections of the play. This is a setting study as much as a character one, and both move dependent with each other.

Much liked- 3.5 star.

All of the action in this piece takes place in Frankie's apartment. The play opens with the couple having sex. It is clear from the beginning that they know each other though not very well. The audience soon learns that they met at the diner where both work. Frankie is a waitress while Johnny is the cook. Johnny is idealistic, looking for true love, and has set his sights on Frankie. Frankie is jaded/grouchy, suspicious and will have none of Johnny's romantic advances. This creates 71 pages show more of back and forth between the two. The repartee is humorous at its best and laborious at its worst. The two characters are grotesque stereotypes in which Johnny's idealism actually becomes creepy to the point that I questioned it the play was going to reveal that he was an escaped patient from a mental institution. Frankie's abrasiveness is further exaggerated as she huff and puffs around the apartment threatening to leave or kick him out. As they go back and forth, they start to open up to each other and see the potential for happiness within themselves and with each other.

Don't get me wrong, I love Terrence McNally (Love! Valour! Compassion! is one of my favorite plays) but this is just uncharacteristically weak. The dialogue feels stilted and unrealistic, the symbolism barrels in on anvils, and the ending is childishly foolish. Overall, McNally is a classic playwright who deserves great respect and praise. Unfortunately, this is far from his finest work and is worth skipping over on your way to his other pieces.

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The play itself is at times adorable, romantic, and utterly terrifying. At times Johnny's actions seem desperate and obsessive, which tended to set off warning bells as I was reading. However, it is a great text for scenework, because there is so much unexpected depth between these two strangers.

Is it possible that McNally has a thing about Callas? Just because he has written not one, but two, plays centering around her? (The other is The Master Class - I saw it with Carmen Roman and I swear she was channelling Callas that night!)

Terrence McNally is a terrifically prolific writer. He has scripted plays, screenplays, musicals and opera libretti. He's also a big ol' opera queen who is a regular on the Metropolitan Opera broadcast's Texaco Opera Quiz.