A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

When Lightning Strikes Twice

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  2any gender (adult)

This pair of quirky one-act plays from the Ridiculous Theater Company provides two opportunities for a hilarious tour-de-force performance.

When Lightning Strikes Twice

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2any gender (adult)

Details

Summary

This hit from the Ridiculous Theatre Company consists of two one-act plays: Awful People Are Coming Over So We Must Be Pretending to Be Hard at Work and Hope That They Will Go Away and Only a Countess May Dance When She's Crazy. Both are tour de forces for comic performers.

In the first, a Roosevelt Democrat sits under a tree watching fireflies and bewailing the mists of old age. Next, the same actor plays a countess who has lost everything but her money, her dignity and her looks. Rapidly changing costumes from one elaborate dress to another, she sings while waiting for an epiphany of the soul.

History
When Lightning Strikes Twice was originally produced by the Ridiculous Theatre Company, premiering at the Charles Ludlam Theater on January 8, 1991. Directed by Eureka, the production starred Everett Quinton and featured the director as Mrs. Trompe l'Oeil Clack.
Keywords

Awful People Are Coming Over So We Must Be Pretending to Be Hard at Work and Hope That They Will Go Away

CLICKETY CLACK
MRS. TROMPE L’OEIL CLACK

Only A Countess May Dance When She's Crazy

THE COUNTESS OLIE SAMOVITCH

  • Setting Jerfferson Ave. Endicott, NY. The Roosevelt Era. | The Tower.
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“Brilliant.” – New York Post

“Mr. Koutoukas, a camp classicist as playwright, has written a breezy, nonstop near-monologue. The play is strewn with philosophical asides... funny... Though undoubtedly the play is more amusing in performance than on paper, one should not overlook the limberness of the writing.” – The New York Times

“Quirkily... reflects the main currents of American life as if in a funhouse mirror.” – Village Voice

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $90 per performance
    $55 per short play individually

Add-Ons

Take a look below at how you can enhance your show!

Authors

Author

H.M. Koutoukas

Author

Mark Bennett

Now Playing