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Affinito, A. Giovanni (Italian-American playwright, 1930-____), “Second Sunday in May,”

a 37-minute serio-comedy in English, set in the home of Anita Wells, on an April morning, 1998,

2f;

  •  © 1998 by A. Giovanni Affinito;  •  script/rights available from A. Giovanni Affinito, 576 Forest Road, West Haven, Connecticut 06516, U.S.A., e-mail Gioman2@aol.com, telephone (home) 203-397-8966.  •  Cited by A. Giovanni Affinito, via ftp September 15, 1999; Affinito says,

  § Dramatis Personae Anita Wells/Moms (f), 75, a wealthy, self-centered widow; Janet (f), 45, Anita’s estranged daughter.

  § Synopsis “Wealthy, self-centered widow, Anita (called Moms), is atypically staying with her estranged daughter, Janet, after breaking an ankle.  She receives a message uninviting her to the biggest event of the social season. She futilely calls a friend, hoping to be included at a bridge party. Convinced there is a pogrom against her she berates Janet about everything from her hairstyle to long-ago imagined abuses. When alone, she throws her cane to the floor and stomps about the room without a limp.  She feigns fainting to gain attention.  Later, she truly faints and Janet discovers from Anita’s doctor she is suffering from leukemia—not a broken ankle. The women argue, unraveling old hurts and discriminations.  Anita, confronted with death, feels she has missed something. Was it motherhood?  She leaves with a proposal to Janet to work on their relationship. Misunderstandings and missed opportunities can lead to hostility and regret in a relationship.

  § Comment “‘Second Sunday in May’ is simply produced with a few furniture props, lighting and a cyc. It is in one scene.

This play was a winner of the Mark Twain Masquer’s Playwriting Competition sponsored by the Hartford
Playwrights, and has been produced in several Connecticut venues, including the Warner Theatre, in Torrington, Connecticut, and the Little Theatre, in New Haven, Connecticut. It’s only ‘special requirements’ are good actors and a good director. ”

  § Themes death, feigning, friendship, hostility, injury, memory, social season, wealth.
 

• “Dinner at Dario's,” a 30-minute gay comedy in English, set in an apartment in Greenwich, Connecticut, 7:00 p.m., Saturday evening, 1999, 4m
• “On Golden Wings,” a 33-minute drama in English, set in Milano, Italy, on an evening in February, 1840, 2m

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Page mounted November 6, 1999, and updated June 23, 2000, February 17, 2003, by the site Webmaster.