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CHARACTERS:
ANDREW- YOUNG SOUTHERN PLAYWRIGHT (20-30)
CARLA- OVERWROUGHT STRUGGLING ACTRESS (20-30)
ACANTHA- WARMHEARTED,WITTY FRIEND (AFRICAN-AMERICAN 25-35))
ANNA- BRAZEN, DRUNK, SOUTHERN WOMAN (MOTHER OF ANDREW 37-50)
SYNOPSIS:
Manhattan Fable-The Actress Who Cried Wolf! is not only the twisted tale of an actress who begins to believe her own lies, but is also the heartbreaking account of a young Southern couple, Andrew and Carla, who are passionately fighting and loving while living in a cluttered, small apartment in midtown Manhattan. It begins with four characters addressing the audience, preparing them for the frantic story that is about to unfold. There is conflict, arguments, and dry wit, as each character tries to explain when all the madness began. Yet, the drunken words of Anna, the brazen Southern mother, sets up the dramatic contradiction of the forthcoming humor and tragedy, "I'm Anna, and this all began the day I died."
Carla, an emotional struggling actress, is in a state of fluster about her false pregnancy test, her doubt of Andrew's love, Andrew's overwhelming messiness, her guilt about reading Andrew's journals, and her anxiety about Andrew's mother. Andrew, a handsome playwright on the edge of obsessive-compulsive disorder, quickly becomes caught up in Carla's drama, reacting childishly and comically, yet often grounding Carla in reality. The arguments and humor continue as Acantha, a warm-hearted kleptomaniac guest arrives, to sublet their apartment and to attempt creating order to their mess.
Andrew and Carla's relationship is weathered even more when Anna, Andrew's alcoholic tell-it-like-she-thinks-it-is mother dies. Andrew is devastated and begins to plan the trip back to Alabama, when suddenly, Carla fakes being sick, keeping Andrew from attending the funeral. The guilt of her deceit is too much for Carla. When an old chair that belonged to Anna arrives, Carla begins to see and hear Andrew's dead mother. Anna has arrived to coerce and drive Carla into total insanity with her forwardness and drunken barbs. Through the chaos of wine, voices, and arguments, Carla begins to believe she has been cast in an Off-Broadway play, a new version of Taming of the Shrew, when she actually has not. Andrew finds out the truth and, against Acantha's advice, confronts Carla. That is when Carla reveals she sees Anna. The conflict, the arguments, the dry wit, all turn tragic with murder, thus finally ending the fable.
*Manhattan Fable-The Actress Who Cried Wolf! is part of the campaign to help keep plays alive at TAPNYC! FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS CAMPAIGN: CLICK HERE! |
