Three Short Plays By Christopher Durang

THE STORIES: THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF THE UNIVERSE. Centers on a week in the beleaguered life of Eleanor Mann, housewife and mother, who lives with her religious fanatic husband and three sons; the oldest a pimp and dope pusher; the middle son a flagrant homosexual; and the youngest the victim of a threshing machine accident which has deprived him of his manhood. The family becomes embroiled in a plot to assassinate the Pope, who is coming to New Jersey to bless the air, and with the help of a radical black nun succeeds in its purpose-with unexpectedly hilarious results. (2 men, 1 woman.) DEATH COMES TO US ALL MARY AGNES. The scene is a decaying mansion occupied by a family beset by all manner of problems: conceit, hatred, selfishness, incest and cruelty-all dealt with in an ironic, highly theatrical manner which offers rare acting opportunities for the performers involved. Throughout, and despite the horrors encountered, all exude a kind of bland innocence which, oddly enough, seems to excuse their otherwise inexcusable behavior-and underscores the biting irony of what takes place. (6 men, 6 women.) 'DENTITY CRISIS. Recovering from a nervous breakdown, Jane is nursed and nagged by her relentlessly cheerful mother, and confused by her oversexed brother-who keeps changing into her father, her grandfather and her mother's French lover. Eventually all (including Jane's psychiatrist, who undergoes a sex change operation and swaps places with his wife) change characters again and become Jane herself-leaving her with no identity at all and pointing up the near impossibility of self-identification in our uncertain times. (2 men, 3 women.)Durang, Christopher is the author of 'Three Short Plays By Christopher Durang' with ISBN 9780822203414 and ISBN 0822203413.