A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The End of the Day

Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  2w, 4m

Apathy and greed fill this comedy that follows Graydon Massey, a doctor turned con-man that ditches his practice. He learns the hard way that the winners of this world are the ones who constantly reinvent themselves to make it.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 4m
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

This comic foray into greed and indifference stars a dissipated expatriate British doctor turned hustler in Los Angeles. When the cad abandons his Beverly Hills practice and rich wife, his former father-in-law, a gangster, demands repayment of the hefty sum spent to educate and set him up in his practice. He traipses off to London to beg from his estranged family. The doctor eventually ties the evils of his worlds into one smashingly corrupt con that entangles international shipping, a movie studio, a priceless Stubbs canvas, a cocaine network, and a beneficent foundation. The playwright's comic net ensnares Los Angeles and London, health care, the mob, the film and the art worlds, disillusioned lefties, lost fathers, loveless mothers, disposable wives, and the selfishly charitable in his hilarious portrayal of a hapless world.

History

The End of the Day premiered at Playwrights Horizons in New York City in April of 1992 under the direction of  Mark Lamos.

GRAYDON MASSEY / STERLING GRAYDON
JONATHON TOFFLER / YOUNG GRAYDON
HILTON LASKER / SWIFTY, LORD KITTERSON
HELEN LASKER-MASSEY / LADY HAMMERSMITH-URBAINE-SUPTON-STOAT
JEREMIAH MARTON / TELLMAN THE BUTLER
ROSAMUND BRACKETT / JOCELYN MASSEY


The doubling of roles, as described in the character descriptions, is a deliberate and important part of the play.

  • Time Period 1990s, 1980s
  • Cautions
    • Drugs
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

REVIEWS

"Bleak yet hilarious...A field day for actors." - The New York Times, Read More

"Even funnier [than] Substance of Fire...A joy to behold." - Wall Street Journal

"Raucous." - New York Newsday

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $120 per performance

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Authors

Jon Robin Baitz

Jon Robin Baitz's plays include The Film Society, The Substance of Fire, Three Hotels, A Fair Country, Ten Unknowns, Mizlansky/Zilinsky, a new version of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, which was produced on Broadway in 2001, and The Paris Letter. He is the creator of the hit ABC TV sh ...

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