A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Fugue

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  5w, 3m

Lee Thuna

" FUGUE is facinating! It casts a dreamy, mysterious spell over its audience."- Cleveland News Herald
"Remarkable and poignant theatre!"- Syracuse Post Standard
"A fascinating and entertaining new play!"- WMNR

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    5w, 3m
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

A woman is found wandering in Chicago, her feet blistered and bloodied. Doctors at the hospital where she is taken immediately recognize this as a symptom of the "fugue" state of amnesia, where the victim is literally running away from an intolerable memory. A young psychiatrist is assigned to her case. Clinic's rules allow him twenty-one days ("three lousy weeks") to work with her. If there is no improvement, she will be sent to a long term care facility. He is running away from his own demons - a mistake he made with a patient early in his practice which had a devastating effect on his life. Because the woman has no past and no future, she is in remarkably good spirits, chipper and carefree except when the young doctor starts to jog her memory. The closer he gets to piecing together the puzzle of her life and the terrible thing that made her want to forget everything, the stronger is her urge to run. But his fear is that if she remembers -- will he be repeating the mistake he made? To muddle the waters, he is falling in love with his patient. This play is about loss.

History

Long Wharf Theatre, 1986. Directed by Kenneth Frankel.

MARY - between 45 and 55. Must be both comedic and dramatic.
DR DANNY LUCCHESI - probably 30 to 35.
MOTHER - 70's.
NOEL - 17.
LIZ KRUGER - mid-twenties to mid-thirties.
ZELDA - same age as Mary.
TAMMY - grows from 11 or 12 to 17 over the course of the play.
DR JOHN OLEANDER - a couple years older than Danny.

  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Setting Chicago. Today. Mary's bedroom.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

REVIEWS

"FUGUE IS FASCINATING! It casts a dreamy, mysterious spell over its audience.-Cleveland News Herald

"Remarkable and poignant theatre!"-Syracuse Post Standard

"A fascinating and entertaining new play!"-WMNR Radio

"An INSPIRING AND DEEPLY UPLIFTING PLAY! Theatre at its finest touches the very pulse of life, and Fugue does so brilliantly!"-Watertown Daily Times

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

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Authors

Author

Lee Thuna

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