Cast of Characters
4 males, 1 female, 3 voiceovers, 1 parakeet

• WESLEY DUFFY: A former baseball player, now 82 years old. He is recently widowed and has moved from his marital dwelling to the studio apartment of the play. He is, in his own eyes, not an old man; he may be aware he has limitations, but he's not about to acknowledge that, at least, not for public consumption.
• BEN McGINTY: Also a former ball player, now 78, and Duffy’s best friend for nearly 60 years. He has been widowed for eight years but still lives in the family home in Brooklyn. By nature, he's gentle and sedentary; less mobile than Duffy, he's convinced he is, indeed, becoming old although he's still alert and has a better memory than his friend
• MOLLY FITZGERALD: Duffy’s only living child, now 44. She was a tomboy growing up and is still an energetic, physical person. She has three children and is a housewife, a career she enjoys immensely. She is definitely feminine but not girlish, clearly her own person but not militant. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles.
• GENE FITZGERALD: Molly’s husband, about 45. Everything about him -- his genial manner, his engaging appearance, his warmth -- belies the fact that he's an accountant.
• DONALD McGINTY: Ben’s son, 41, married with two children, living in a New Jersey suburb of New York City. He is precise but genuine and affable, trim and unfashionably short-haired: the sort of man who buys designer casual wear because he likes the look, not the label. He is a successful manager and a dutiful -- and affectionate -- son, husband and father.
• HECTOR: Duffy's parakeet, 15. A real bird should not be used.
• THREE ANNOUNCERS: Offstage, recorded, voices only; these may be created by various members of the cast.
  
  A general note on the characters: There is one overriding trait these people all possess: A strong sense of family. They care deeply about each other, and those members of the family who have died. It is that sense more than any other factor which influences their actions, decisions and intentions. If anything, they may from time to time be overly caring.

Plot Summary

Eighty-Two is play about dealing with age, love of family and friends, and maintaining independence in old age. Duffy, an 82 year old ex-baseball player, lives in New York, and is unwilling to leave his memories and best friend of more than sixty years, Ben, now 78 and also a former ball player. Duffy's daughter, Molly, discovering he has a heart condition, tries to convince him to move to Los Angeles, to live with her and her family— an idea which, to her dismay, he resists.

The Setting

Mid-May through Early September, 1980. Duffy’s studio apartment in New York City's West 80s.

Playwright Biography

Evan Guilford-Blake’s plays have been produced internationally. Seventeen are published, and he has won 33 playwriting competitions, including Ireland’s Eamon Keane, the Tennessee Williams one-act contest (twice; he is the only playwright to do so) and the Arts Club of Washington one-act and full-length competitions. He’s also won awards for his fiction, poetry and children’s works, and has pieces in several anthologies, and in various magazines and on the web, including Ramble Underground ( www.rambleunderground.org/underground_winter09_009.htm ) and jscribes.com ( www.jscribes.com/dreidel/ ). He recently finished Noir(ish), a novel adapted from his award-winning play.  Evan is a Distinguished Resident Playwright Emeritus at Chicago Dramatists and a Dramatists Guild member. He and his wife (and inspiration), healthcare writer and jewelry designer Roxanna Guilford-Blake, live in the Atlanta area with their two lovable, dumb-as-dirt doves, Quill and Gabriella. Please visit his website: www.guilford-blake.com/evan.

$5.75/individual copy

$40/package
$35/performance royalty