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4 By Guare
Summer 2002
Something I'll Tell You Tuesday
Directed by Ensemble Member Cece Klinger
Guare's story of two couples, one old, one young,
at a point of crisis in their lives. About to
enter the hospital for treatment of what may be
a more grave condition than the others suspect,
Agnes reassures her husband, Andrew, and asks
that they walk to the hospital together. They
walk along slowly, enjoying the fine day, stopping
for coffee, reminiscing about the past. Out of
their serenity comes an odd but arresting fact.
They realize that, looking back, what they miss
most of all is what their daughter and her husband
have now--the glorious, exhausting, infuriating,
but exhilarating fights, and the energy to make
the most of them. This is what Agnes will speak
of on Tuesday--knowing that in her daughter and
her husband she sees, and yearns for, the Agnes
and Andrew of forty years ago.
The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year
Directed by Greg Werstler
HE and SHE first meet when SHE is feeding pigeons
in the park, and HE asks her for the plastic favor
at the bottom of the Crackerjack box. HE tells
her that his wife takes all his money, bends the
coins in her teeth, and shoots at his feet with
a rifle with a blue silencer. SHE doesn't know
what to make of him, but they begin to meet regularly,
and gradually they learn more of each other as
their curiosity heightens and their bizarre stories
unfold. Absurdist in style, Guare achieves a lively
theatricality with the simplest of means.
Talking Dog
Directed by Laura Kepley
Guare's story of A man who takes his girlfriend
hang gliding for the first time, prompting her
to overcome her fears. She does it, and hears
him say--in flight--I love you. She doesn't mention
it, but glides again and again to hear it. When
she realizes it may not be him, she decides it
is nature talking, taking on a more profound meaning.
But he thinks she can't take a joke and moves
on, constantly searching for someone who understands
him.
In Fireworks Lie Secret Codes
Directed by Ensemble Member Julie Daley
The scene is a penthouse terrace on Manhattan's
West Side, where a group of friends had gathered
to watch the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks display
on the Hudson River. As they sip wine and call
out the changing colors, they also reveal the
unrest beneath their apparent ease: one of the
two male lovers who share the penthouse has decided
to return to his native England; another couple
sheepishly admits that they are fleeing Manhattan
life for suburban New Jersey. The play ends as
it began--good friends exchanging amusing anecdotes
in the spirit of relaxed companionship--but the
glints of truth which have emerged make it clear
that their lives are more troubled and uncertain
than appearances might suggest.
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