Man & Wife by Emma Goldman-Sherman

FULL LENGTH In MAN & WIFE, Ron & Missy Merriweather start out as mannequins on their own wedding cake. They struggle through 25 years of BiPartisan Marriage navigating climate changes, health care crises including abortion, and especially their children's gender dysphoria while they constantly craft their images on social media. And yet they are desperately seeking their own authentic selves. MAN...
FULL LENGTH In MAN & WIFE, Ron & Missy Merriweather start out as mannequins on their own wedding cake. They struggle through 25 years of BiPartisan Marriage navigating climate changes, health care crises including abortion, and especially their children's gender dysphoria while they constantly craft their images on social media. And yet they are desperately seeking their own authentic selves. MAN & WIFE is an Epic Comedy that tries to reunite the country and help us all feel much more human.

Louise Stephens at The Royal Court wrote, "we very much enjoyed reading the play - the bang with which it arrives, its wit, its energy, are all exciting. We felt its power most in the unapologetically theatrical moments..."
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Man & Wife

Recommended by

  • Jillian Blevins:
    6 Sep. 2023
    “ Full of brilliant satire and piercing truth, MAN AND WIFE picks up where Edward Albee and Thornton Wilder left off, telling the story of our struggling country through the parable of a struggling marriage (we even get a direct Skin Of Our Teeth shoutout, in case we were unsure of the playwright’s influences). Goldman-Sherman’s characters begin as archetypes, but over the course of 100 pages and 25 years, we begin to see the contradictions, the complexities, the cracks where humanness breaks through the molds the world has told them to fill. ”
  • Aly Kantor:
    12 Feb. 2022
    “ This imaginative, astute two-hander has such a high level of pure theatricality that I'd designed half the play in my head before I'd finished reading - and yet the possibilities remain endless! It's absurd, it's smart, and it says so much with such simplicity - there are audiences who will see this performed and come out changed. The characterization is incredibly consistent, and yet when we finally watch these two people become "real" everything snaps together like magic - which is what a play should do and be. This play accomplishes so much my head is spinning! Fantastic! ”
  • Charles Scott Jones:
    14 Sep. 2021
    “ Quite a feat to pull off 25 years of Missy and Ron's hilarious and sad journey from the top of the wedding cake! Emma Goldman-Sherman delights as she enlightens in MAN & WIFE. The plot and character twists are deployed with aplomb. And EGS's superb use of technique & theatrical instincts makes this 2-actor play feel richly populated with children and relatives. A favorite scene among many is "Mary and Joe Move In" in which Missy's parents are made completely visible to the imagination in all of their ingloriousness. Would love to see this staged with multiple sets of actors. ”
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Character Information

This play calls for 2 White Christian MidWestern Americans.
This play could be done by a much larger cast depending on how the director envisions the project. For example, a school could do it with a different couple in each section... It could also be done with People of Color or Trans People.
I am happy to collaborate with anyone with a strong vision.

  • Missy Merriweather
    27-52,
    White
    ,
    Female
    Missy is feminine in a pretty female (think flight attendant) way. She is of child-bearing age and plays 27 - 52. Midwestern Accent.

    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American, White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Ron Merriweather
    29-54,
    White
    ,
    Male
    Ron is a manly, sports-fan and an airline pilot with a great pilot's voice - Midwestern Accent. Plays 29-54.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American, White
    • Gender: 
      Male

Development History

  • Workshop
    ,
    New Circle Theatre Company
    ,
    2018
  • Reading
    ,
    29th Street Playwrights Collective
    ,
    2017
  • Reading
    ,
    New Circle Theatre Company
    ,
    2017
  • Reading
    ,
    Dixon Place
    ,
    2017
  • Reading
    ,
    One Acts and Snacks, Brooklyn
    ,
    2017

Awards

Finalist
,
Top Ten Most Recommended 2-handers
,
NPX
,
2018