THE STORIES: Election Year. Set during the final months of the Reagan-Mondale presidential campaign, the action of the play is comprised of a series of lunchtime get-togethers between two young, unattached yuppies: Rachel, in her mid-30s, a confirmed liberal; and her slightly younger friend Wendy, an incurable romantic who is recovering from a painful breakup with her latest boyfriend. Wendy offers her services to the Mondale campaign, whereas Rachel, the supposedly committed Democrat, finds herself sounding more and more like a doctrinaire Republican. Ironically Wendy (who really doesn't care much about politics) quickly strikes up a promising acquaintanceship with one of her fellow volunteers (a handsome young actor), while Rachel faces the sobering realization that she has moved far to the right of her original beliefs and opinions — and is going to vote for Reagan! In the end their friendship survives even this jolt and does so with a delightful blend of wit and high spirits. (1 man, 2 women.)
So When You Get Married… (THE QUANDO SI SPOSA FUND). In a ladies' powder room, three members of an Italian-American family — a grandmother, her daughter, and her granddaughter — retreat to discuss family business away from the distractions of a noisy wedding reception. The granddaughter needs the money her grandmother has set aside for her as a dowry. The generations clash uproariously and with much Italian "brio" as the flinty grandmother refuses to budge an inch on money until her granddaughter agrees to find herself a husband; the granddaughter makes it very clear that marriage is the farthest thing from her mind; and the mother, caught in the middle, tries to calm things by plying the others with staggering amounts of food and drink carted in from the groaning buffet. She even arranges a visit by the glib, unctuous MC ("he's cute, he's single, he's Italian"), but the granddaughter remains unmoved and the old lady retreats into a stern-faced, stony silence. But, happily, the emotions stirred up by their dispute are counterbalanced by the strong family ties that bind them together and that, in the end, give them the means to deal with the differences that have sprung up between them. (1 man, 3 women.)
