A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Kindness

Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy  /  2w, 2m

Kindness is a play about the possibility of sympathy in a harsh world and the meaning of mercy in the face of devastating circumstances.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Mystery/Thriller
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

An ailing mother and her teenaged son flee Illinois and a crumbling marriage for the relative calm and safety of a midtown Manhattan hotel. Mom holds tickets to a popular musical about love among bohemians. Her son isn't interested, so Mom takes the kindly cabdriver instead, while the boy entertains a visitor from down the hall, an enigmatic, potentially dangerous young woman.

Kindness is a play about the possibility of sympathy in a harsh world and the meaning of mercy in the face of devastating circumstances.

History
Kindness premiered at Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, artistic director) at the Peter J. Sharp Theater on Oct. 13, 2008. The performance was directed by Adam Rapp.
Cast Attributes
DENNIS - 17
MARYANNE - late forties, Dennis' mother
HERMAN - African American, mid fifties
FRANCES - a young woman
  • Time Period Present Day
  • Setting A midtown Manhattan motel room.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

"Compelling. A well-crafted mini-thriller, which keeps you in suspense until the final blackout." - New York Daily News

"A taut and involving dark comedy. Hilarious and unsettling." - TheatreMania.com, Read More

"4 stars! Pungent, vivid...Rapp finds a gentle approach to his characters' physical and emotional pain without turning sentimental. His playful side is on display too." - Time Out New York, Read More

"Compelling. A well-crafted mini-thriller, which keeps you in suspense until the final blackout." - New York Daily News, Read More

"Rapp has raised some provocative questions about the prickly mother/son relationship he has drawn in such detail." - Variety

"Adam Rapp can write dense, tense, funny dialogue." - The New York Times

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $120 per performance

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Authors

Adam Rapp

Adam Rapp is the author of numerous plays, which include Nocturne (American Repertory Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop), Finer Noble Gases (26th Humana Festival), Stone Cold Dead Serious (A.R.T.), Blackbird (The Bush, London), Essential Self-Defense (Playwrights Horizons/Ed ...

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