A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Better Late

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  1w, 3m

Larry Gelbart

This biting December-December-December romance is a not-to-be-missed romantic comedy.

Better Late

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 3m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Romantic Comedy
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Senior
Accolades
Accolades
  • WINNER! The Selma Melvoin Playwriting Award, given by Northlight Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.

Details

Summary
As Better Late opens, composer Lee Baer is forced by his wife, Nora, to take in her ex-husband, Julian, after a recent stroke. Tension builds between the two as Julian makes it more and more difficult for Lee to get any songs written. All the while family and relationship dynamics are tested when Julian and Nora's son, Billy, reveals that he is going through a divorce of his own. How long will Julian stay and how long will it take until Lee cracks? This bitingl December-December-December romance is a not-to-be-missed romantic comedy.
History

Better Late premiered at the Northlight Theater in Skokie, IL in April 2008 under the direction of BJ Jones.

Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups
LEE BAER - A middle-aged composer, with a tongue as sharp as the mind that hones it.
NORA BAER - Four years older than Lee, his dynamic wife.
BILLY COWAN - 32. Still a child of divorce.
JULIAN COWAN - 73. Not one for going gently into the night.
  • Time Period Present Day
  • Setting Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, CA.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Additional Features Physical Comedy
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)

Media

REVIEWS

"Better Late is part a damn-it-all, Mel Brooks-like feast of sardonic one-liners in denial, and part a sad and caustic plea for marital compassion that could have been penned by an octogenarian Woody Allen, guiltily regretting one of his failed relationships." - Chicago Tribune

"A breezy entertainment on serious themes, Larry Gelbart's Better Late explores love, divorce, aging and death with a mature sensibility and a decidedly mainstream comedic tone...always diverting and admirably unsentimental." - Variety, Read More

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

Our Picks For The 2019/20 Season
Lawrence Haynes
January 7, 2019

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
  • Optional Music/Media Fee: $15 per performance

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Author

Larry Gelbart

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