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Lichtig, Robin Rice (American playwright, 19__-____), “The Fortification of Miss Grace Wren,” a 40-minute drama in English, set in a small park in New York City, late September, 2001,

1m1f;

  ©  2002 by Robin Rice Lichtig;  •  in Robin Rice Lichtig’s The Fortification of Miss Grace Wren (New York: Author, 2002),  •  script/rights available from Robin Rice Lichtig,  780 West End Ave., #6F, New York, New York 10025, U.S.A., e-mail dramamama@nyc.rr.com, www.dramamama.net, telephone (home) 212-864-0201, fax 212-864-0201.  •  Cited by Robin Rice Lichtig via ftp March 22, 2002; Lichtig says,

  §  Dramatis Personae Peter Stuyvesant (m), 50-plus, statesman (a statue come to life); Grace Wren (f), middle aged, Elementary NYC school teacher.

  §  Synopsis “Never a strong person, Grace is traumatized by 9/11. She can’t answer her students’ questions about the tragedy. Personal traumas pile up, also. She wants to escape back to the 17th century where all that can happen is neatly set down in history books. The statue of Peter Stuyvesant, in the park Grace sits in each morning, comes alive, responding to her need. He assures her that he is a far better man now than ‘the me back in time.’ He urges Grace to ‘stand strong!’ Love blooms. The struggle between past and present intensifies. Finally, Grace takes the reins of the present. Peter: ‘Small gestures and large, we can all be heroes.’”

  §  Comment “One scene. Simple unit set. Effectiveness increased with good lights and sound.”

  §  Themes 9/11, 17th century, history, love, park, Stuyvesant (Peter Stuyvesant, Dutch Governor of the New Netherlands, 1592-1672), statue, student-teacher relationship, terrorism, tragedy, trauma, wisdom, WTC (World Trade Center).
 

See also Robin Rice Lichtig’s

•  “David's Disappearance,” a 15-minute comedy-drama in English, set on a screen porch, Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.A., October, 2001, 2m
• “Embracing the Undertoad,” a 35-minute comedy-drama in English, set in a small apartment in North Carolina, evening, recent past, 3f
• “Evening Primrose in Ohio,” a 30-minute comedy-drama in English, set in a laudromat, late afternoon, recent past, 1m1f
• “Grannie Bird,” a 35-minute comedy-drama in English, set in Williamstown, Massachusetts, May, 1986, 1m2f
• “Patience and Mr. Potter,” a 12-minute comedy in English, set in an overgrown lot, New York City, February, summer, 1910, 2m
• “Queen for a Day,” a 45-minute comedy-drama in English, set in a kitchen, February, 1953, 2m1f
• “Roses to Plan,” a 12-minute comedy in English, set in a kitchen in Brooklyn, NY, morning, recent past, 1m1f
• “Sitting Duck Season,” a 17-minute drama in English, set in a cabin in a Vermont forest, autumn, recent past, 1m1f
• “Squeezing Papayas,” a 5-minute comedy in English, set on a terrace on hill outside of Mexico City, early summer morning, 2002, 1m1f
• “Toot Toots,” a  17-minute comedy in English, set in New York Harbor, 2003, 2m1

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Page mounted May 3, 2002, and updated May 4, 2002, March 23, 2003, by the Webmaster.