THE STORY: Louise is a divorced mother of three, getting by on welfare checks and child support in a depressed, industrial New England town. Harry is a handsome, clever young man, a wheelchair user since a childhood accident. Their paths cross in an emergency room as Louise seeks out care for her daughter’s mysterious sickness. Yearning for connection beyond his online friends and his pile of Russian novels, Harry reaches out to help Louise navigate her daughter’s care. More compatriots than lovers, they find solace with each other for a brief and intense interlude before their paths diverge. A frank and melancholy portrait of life on the fringes of American society.
“…Belluso’s play works.” —Chicago Tribune.
“Far too many playwrights these days either jump on a popular political bandwagon or simply contemplate their slacker navels; Belluso has real fire.” —Chicago Sun-Times.
“John Belluso’s blistering PYRETOWN…crackles with heat. I don’t say it lightly: This play is worth braving the cold to see.” —New York Sun.
“PYRETOWN has none of the flashy emotional pyrotechnics that animate many comparable stories; Harry and Louise’s romance expands and contracts naturally, like the beating of a heart…Belluso gives his characters an inchoate touch of poetry, which they must guard against the icy bureaucracy of American health care.” —Time Out New York.
