A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Avec Schmaltz

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  3w, 4m

This two-act comedic collision seems, at first, like a straightforward romp about marital grumblings. But there are all sorts of surprising complexities in the failed marriage of Kit, the WASP flame-haired rich girl, and Manny, the wry, wise-cracking Jewish TV composer, which has produced two precoc…

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 4m
  • Duration
    Duration
    105 Minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Senior

Details

Summary
This two-act comedic collision seems, at first, like a straightforward romp about marital grumblings. But there are all sorts of surprising complexities in the failed marriage of Kit, the WASP flame-haired rich girl, and Manny, the wry, wise-cracking Jewish TV composer, which has produced two precocious, sassy children and a situation in which the ex-wife and the ex-husband can't seem to live with each other or without each other.

'Avec Schmaltz' (a phrase European musicians would ironically use to instruct violinists how to emotionally heat-up their romantic string passages) is about this devoted divorced couple, their new partners, and their two glib offspring at holiday time. It moves from a Currier and Ives winter wonderland of Christmas Eve in Connecticut to a New Year's Eve in sun-drenched Beverly Hills, California. It concerns the ex-marital couple, their lovers, and would-be-lovers entering and exiting in a farcical, light-hearted, but dead-serious comedy in two acts.

There is no facile resolution to the question of "will-they-or-won't-they?" get back together. Rather, there is the emotional vitality of people clinging to what relational lifeboats they are tossed in the buoyant excursion called life!

History

Avec Schmaltz was originally performed (in an earlier version) under the title of The Spirit of it All on August 11, 1984 in The New Play Series at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, MA and was directed by Steve Lawson.

KIT – Mid 30s, beautiful, flame-haired, “well-finished” private school girl, divorced mother of a young daughter and teenage son.
NELLIE – 7 year-old freckled miniature of her mother, feisty, glib
JOSH – 15 year-old, dark-eyed, dark-haired, smart, sensitive, droll
NICK – Mid-30s, handsome, polished, divorced WASP “rich-boy”
MANNY - Mid-30s, attractive, polished, jokey, Jewish ex-rock musician turned television composer, ex-husband of Kit ad father of Nellie and Josh
WENDY – Late-20s, sexy, savvy TV producer
COLIN – Mid-30s, nice-looking, well-educated, sophisticated professional violinist

  • Time Period Present Day
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Additional Features Audience Participation/Interactive
  • Duration 105 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
  • Chorus Size N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $120 per performance

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Authors

Mart Crowley

Mart Crowley (1935-2020) was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi and educated at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. After graduating from the drama department, he went to New York to pursue a career in the theatre and landed jobs as production assistant to the d ...

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