A One-act Play for Three Women and One Man
BERTA: 34-year-old woman visiting New York City from New Hampshire.
REBECCA: 60-year-old woman visiting New York City from New Hampshire; Berta’s mother-in-law.
MADDIE: 20-year-old NYU student; Rebecca’s college son’s girlfriend.
JASON: 33-year-old Strategist deputy editor; Rebecca’s 30-year-old son’s boyfriend.
Time: An early evening in April 2019.
Place: Gyu-Kaku in midtown Manhattan.
Berta, Rebecca, and Maddie are seated at the front of the restaurant when Jason walks in. They all greet each other. It’s dinner before a Broadway show. They are excited for The Lion King.
Jason: Whoa, wow, Berta! I really like your jumpsuit.
Berta: Oh, thank you so much! [She lowers her voice.] It’s from Amazon.
Jason: Wait, what?
Berta: I know. It’s like 30 bucks.
Rebecca: I told her she has to tell me the name because I want to buy one myself.
Maddie: That’s from Amazon? It looks like Reformation?
Jason: What’s the material??
Berta: I don’t know, it’s like this stretchy thing. It feels good though! [She pulls on it just below the shoulder to show the stretch. The audience can see that it looks like a high-quality legging material — the fabric is a mix of polyester and spandex.]
Jason: Did you have to get it tailored?
Berta: No, the pant legs are a little long, so I have to wear taller shoes, but that’s it.
Jason: Sorry, sorry, how did you find it?
Berta: I was just clicking around on Amazon looking for some cute clothes before our trip, and this had good reviews. I bought some other stuff that was even cheaper, but it wasn’t as good.
Jason: Wow. I’m super impressed.
[Lights fade.]
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