Shtick

by  Henry Meyerson

Full Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  1m, 2f

"Mainstream success...spicy situation...moving effect...abundance of jokes...wittily cynical lines...Whoever like to be moved and entertained in one evening will enjoy this show." - Lidove Noviny, Prague

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Shtick

by  Henry Meyerson

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Shtick

  • Cast Size

    Cast Size

    1m, 2f
  • Duration

    Duration

    90 minutes
  • SubGenre

    Subgenre

    Not Applicable
  • Accolades

    Accolades

    Not Applicable
  • Audience

    Target Audience

    • Adult
    • Senior

Additional Info

Helen's life became complicated after her husband Murray's stroke and her sister Gladys's revelation, wanting to set the record straight in case Murray should die, that she and Murray had been having an affair. Helen suspected Murray was no angel when she married him. After all, as a stand-up comic he was always on the road and she knew comics could be loose cannons. Helen knew she was trading the risk Murray would bring to any relationship, let alone marriage, for the excitement of the gamble. While Helen might have been willing to adjust to Murray and his new stroke induced limits, the stakes were raised and the game was changed by Gladys's admission of the affair.

So now Helen is left on the horns of dilemma: How can she be a nurturing caretaker for a man who has deceived her (with her own sister, yet) while knowing he is a snake with no visible conscience?

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Reviews

"Mainstream success...spicy situation...moving effect...abundance of jokes...wittily cynical lines...Whoever like to be moved and entertained in one evening will enjoy this show." - Lidove Noviny, Prague

Keywords

Aging, Betrayal, Love, Marriage

Considerations

Performing Groups

  • Community Theatre
  • Professional Theatre
  • Senior Theatre

Cautions

  • No Special Cautions

License details

  • Minimum Fee: $75 per performance

Production

Details

  • Time Period: Contemporary
  • Duration: 90 minutes
  • Setting:

    A middle class living room.  A sofa stretches across the stage, in front of which is a small table.  Stage rear are two doors, one to the outside, one to the kitchen.

    Essential to the production is a wheel chair. 

  • Additional Features: Not Applicable
  • Features / Contains: Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes

Music

  • Musical Style: N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal Demands: N/A (Not a musical)

Casting

1m, 2f
HELEN - 60; a woman who is ready and able to cope not only with her husband Murray’s physical problems, but his rotten disposition, as well. She radiates energy and is as skilled at verbal repartee as Murray.
MURRAY - 60; Murray is in a wheel chair and partially paralyzed; having always been sarcastic and irascible, his stroke certainly hasn’t improved his disposition.
GLADYS - 55; Helen’s freewheeling, younger sister; more stylishly attired than Helen, but perhaps a tad too glitzy. While she is no match for Helen’s verbal ability, she is the breezier, more self-assured of the sisters. Gladys lives by the creed of honesty and having a good time.
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Cast Attributes

  • Non-Traditional casting
  • Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle)
  • Parts for Senior Actors

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Authors

Henry Meyerson

Henry Meyerson

Henry Meyerson's publications with Samuel French include the full-lengths Beware the Man Eating Chicken, Shtick, and

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SHTICK premiered at the Theatre Ungelt in Prague in December 2010 and has been in production in Prague and on tour of the Czech Republic ever since.

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