The Plays

Our Shrinking, Shrinking World, by Richard Dresser

Dr. Lyman Hidalgo-Nyquist is a psychotherapist with a climate-induced apocalyptic complex, a loose grasp of therapeutic technique, and a looser grasp of professional ethics.  When his long-suffering client and his wife decide to see a new, young therapist who’s just moved to town, Lyman’s professional jealousy spikes—along with his fear of losing income—and he meets with the new therapist to set things straight.  In the comic repartee that follows, the therapists exchange wits and barbs.  In the end, the only thing certain is climate change as rising water laps at the combatants’ feet in their shrinking, shrinking world.

A Delicate Arrangement, by Dawn O’Leary

A struggling young actor is hired by an art scholar who specializes in determining the authenticity of famous paintings.  He suspects that some paintings in a renowned, deceased artist’s body of work may be forgeries, and he sends the young actor on a mission to uncover the truth.  The actor adopts a look that will be familiar to the artist’s widow, which startles her into reminiscences of a lost life and love.  In a play about appearances, inspiration, and honesty, he soon discovers that fidelity in art, as in life, often depends on a delicate arrangement.

Probably Not, by Glen Merzer

Probably Not is a comedy about a wacky run for the presidency by an unmotivated congressman from Indiana whose off-the-wall policies are as silly as they are poorly conceived—yet strangely they make sense.  Well, some of them.  In our current political climate, we should wish for a candidate as honest and plain spoken as Evan Gorgoni, who might not inspire us to new heights, but he would certainly be entertaining.