94:. Ruth believes in hard work and success; Jack is lazy and has no goals. Ruth desperately wants to be married; Jack hates the idea of marriage. With each ring of the phone, the love affair dissolves into a more intense argument about religion, the future or marriage; however, this does not prevent a build-up of hope with each ring that perhaps the couple may work out their differences and come to an agreement. At one point Ruth and Jack even switch positions: Jack argues for marriage, Ruth argues against it, and it is this final argument that leads to the dissolution of their relationship. After a slew of “fuck you’s” from Jack and “leave’s” from Ruth, the two realize they can no longer be together, but they also do not know how to function without one another. The play ends with a final phone ring and the couple beginning to dance as they did in the start of the play.
76:
converse about what a good time they are having; after a few lines the telephone rings, the music backs up a few measures and the conversation also goes back a few lines and this time changes direction. A few lines go by and the phone rings again, and the conversation once more rewinds and restarts, yet again changing focus. This pattern of rewinding and restarting the conversation in a different vein continues throughout the play whenever the unseen telephone rings. This convention is similar to the bell ringing in Ives's previous work
75:
The play opens with the ominous ringing of an off-stage telephone. As the lights come up Ruth and Jack, a couple in their mid-thirties, are dancing in their apartment. The telephone rings again, the couple stops, the music backs up a few measures and they begin to dance. Ruth and Jack dance on and
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86:). As the play progresses the audience learns that the couple is in a tenuous state in their relationship and the happiness seen as the play opens is not the prevalent mood. Ruth is
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with yuks … the dialogue is crunchy and saucy these lovers are buffeted about circularly, hilariously, and scarily.”
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A revised edition was presented Off-Broadway by
Primary Stages in June 1996, with direction by
44:, with direction by Jason McConnell Buzas and the cast of Beth McDonald and Christopher Wells.
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163:"THEATER REVIEW;A Simply Charming Couple Headed for a Dead End"
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Internet Off-Broadway
Database, accessed February 8, 2014
195:(Revised ed.). New York: Dramatists Play Service.
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as “a genuine achievement Ives spins a dance that is
21:is a two-act play written by American playwright
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757:Voss: How I Come to America and Am Hero, Mostly
293:The Lives and Deaths of the Great Harry Houdini
210:(Eastern ed.). New York, N.Y. p. A9.
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122:, Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 1996,
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206:Lyons, Donald (24 May 1996). "none".
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80:(one of six plays in the collection
51:and a cast of Vivienne Benesch and
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455:Variations on the Death of Trotsky
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409:Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread
398:The Mystery at Twicknam Vicarage
378:Foreplay or The Art of the Fugue
40:in May 1989 in a production by
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510:Translation/adaptations
496:Mere Mortals and Others
472:Evenings of short plays
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602:The Boys from Syracuse
448:The Universal Language
608:Dreams and Nightmares
563:Dance of the Vampires
388:Long Ago and Far Away
177:Simon. “Laugh Trap.”
420:A Singular Kinda Guy
191:Ives, David (1996).
778:Plays by David Ives
614:Du Barry Was a Lady
587:Musical adaptations
541:The School For Lies
491:Lives of the Saints
462:Words, Words, Words
383:Lives of the Saints
368:English Made Simple
281:Don Juan in Chicago
208:Wall Street Journal
90:; Jack is a former
698:Strike Up the Band
595:Anyone Can Whistle
166:The New York Times
145:2014-02-23 at the
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747:The Phobia Clinic
733:Narrative fiction
677:Pardon My English
670:Out of This World
524:The Heir Apparent
518:A Flea in Her Ear
480:All in the Timing
373:Enigma Variations
179:New York Magazine
83:All in the Timing
57:New York Magazine
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635:Finian's Rainbow
536:The Metromaniacs
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353:Captive Audience
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181:. 3 June 1996
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38:Off-Broadway
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577:Here We Are
415:Seven Menus
331:Short plays
305:Polish Joke
287:Is He Dead?
276:City of God
715:Screenplay
684:Pipe Dream
501:Time Flies
442:Time Flies
436:Sure Thing
425:Soap Opera
250:David Ives
128:0822215829
98:References
78:Sure Thing
65:Strindberg
59:describes
49:John Rando
36:premiered
29:Production
23:David Ives
363:Dr. Fritz
315:St. Freud
248:Works by
772:Category
555:Musicals
530:The Liar
143:Archived
92:Catholic
642:Jubilee
130:, pp2-3
691:Purlie
271:Canvas
126:
117:Script
88:Jewish
752:Scrib
628:Fanny
257:Plays
124:ISBN
71:Plot
774::
154:^
106:^
55:.
25:.
241:e
234:t
227:v
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