THE BRONXVILLE TRILOGY, or Marriages of Inconvenience

by William Ivor Fowkes

TRILOGY (3 FULL-LENGTH PLAYS = 4 HOURS, 30 MINUTES TOTAL). THE BRONXVILLE TRILOGY, or Marriages of Inconvenience, presents the stories of three married couples in Bronxville, NY, an affluent suburb of New York City in Westchester County. All three husbands are closeted gay men whose wives don’t know the truth of their situation. The play spans the years 1971 to 2000, a time of sweeping social changes for gay...

TRILOGY (3 FULL-LENGTH PLAYS = 4 HOURS, 30 MINUTES TOTAL). THE BRONXVILLE TRILOGY, or Marriages of Inconvenience, presents the stories of three married couples in Bronxville, NY, an affluent suburb of New York City in Westchester County. All three husbands are closeted gay men whose wives don’t know the truth of their situation. The play spans the years 1971 to 2000, a time of sweeping social changes for gay people.

In Part One (ROOMMATES), Graham Walker and Dan Carlsen—two best friends and lovers since college—struggle with their desire to be together in a world where marriage to women is the unquestioned norm, and the AIDS epidemic makes living out of the closet a frightening option. Their solution is to marry women, start families, and live as next-door neighbors while continuing their relationship in private. This strategy works surprisingly well—until Dan dies in a plane crash.

In Part Two (MARRIAGE), a college student on the verge of committing suicide because he fears he might be gay decides to marry his girlfriend instead. Eight years later, Chip and Sally Miller seem to lead a perfect life in Manhattan, but a secretly tormented Chip considers walking out on their marriage until Sally announces that she’s pregnant and convinces him to move out to Bronxville, far away from the city’s temptations. As the Miller clan grows over the years, so do Chip’s despair and desperation as he secretly acts out in increasingly dangerous ways, ultimately almost dying after being attacked at a gay sex club, his story splashed across the front page of the tabloids. MARRIAGE is told through excerpts from the therapy sessions they attend when their marriage starts to fall apart.

In Part Three (AFTERMATH), the two stories introduced in Parts One & Two come together when newly-out Graham Walker and Chip Miller embark on a challenging relationship. In the aftermath of divorce, Graham is juggling his new identity, his relationship with an ex-wife who can’t make sense of what happened, his desire to come out to his young sons despite her objections, and the news that she is already getting remarried. Chip Miller faces similar challenges, although his family has moved away from Bronxville after the embarrassment of his scandal. While their common circumstances and mutual attraction bring Graham and Chip together, their very different histories and conflicting approaches to navigating their new gay lives diminish their chances for success as a couple. AFTERMATH is about trying to create a new life after your old one is snatched away from you.

NOTE: THE BRONXVILLE TRILOGY, or Marriages of Inconvenience, consists of three full-length plays—ROOMATES, MARRIAGE, and AFTERMATH—which may be performed individually as “standalone” plays or as a series of three plays. The plays have a running time of approximately 90 minutes each. The full trilogy (attached here) runs approximately 4 and a half hours. The full trilogy is also available as a single 3-hour play—THE (Abridged) BRONXVILLE TRILOGY, or Marriages of Inconvenience. (Note that when not performed as a trilogy, the three plays do not include the PROLOGUES or EPILOGUE included here.)

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THE BRONXVILLE TRILOGY, or Marriages of Inconvenience

Character Information

7 actors playing 29 roles + 4 voices.
  • ACTOR #1: Graham Walker (Part 1: Roommates + Part 3: Aftermath)
    Articulate and intense investment banker from Westport, CT.
    Character Age
    Ages from 19 to 48
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any Race/Ethnicity
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • ACTOR #2 (Part 1: Roommates + Part 2: Marriage + Part 3: Aftermath): Dan Carlsen, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Mancuso, Will Dent, Dr. Devlin, Officer Johnson, James, William Walker + Voice of Therapist
    Dan Carlsen – Athletic and boyish lawyer from Fargo, ND.
    Abraham Lincoln — The 16th president of the United States.
    Franklin Mancuso - Charming. Successful real estate agent. Openly gay. A bit deceptive. HIV-positive. Eventually has full-on AIDS.
    Will Dent - Chip’s work colleague. Unimaginative business executive focused solely on his job.
    Dr. Devlin - Chip’s junior high school principal. Uptight, formal, and articulate.
    Officer Johnson - Police officer. Weary. Professional. Approachable.
    James – Flirtatious young gay man.
    William Walker – Graham Walker’s great-grandson.
    Character Age
    Dan Carlsen - 19 to 44; Abraham Lincoln - 53; Franklin Mancuso - 35; Will Dent - 40; Dr. Devlin - 48; Officer Johnson - 33; James - 22; William Walker - 38.
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any Race or Ethnicity
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • ACTOR #3 (Part 1: Roommates + Part 2: Marriage + Part 3: Aftermath): Chip Miller, Harold Nicolson, Walter Morgan, Seth Regan, Maitre D' + Voice of White House Guard
    Chip Miller – Sally’s husband. Amiable. Likes to please others and is easily manipulated by them. Sexually closeted and tormented by his secret. A successful executive at a major packaged goods company in Midtown Manhattan despite an apparent lack of ambition.
    Harold Nicolson – English politician, diplomat, historian, biographer, diarist, and novelist. Married to Vita Sackville-West.
    Walter Morgan - Law professor.
    Seth Regan - Sly and promiscuous PR writer.
    Maitre D’ – Solicitous.
    Character Age
    Chip Miller - 19 to 42; Harold Nicolson - 51; Walter Morgan - 37; Seth Regan - 30; Maitre D' - any age.
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any Race or Ethnicity
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • ACTOR #4 (Part 1: Roommates + Part 3: Aftermath): Kitty Flemington Walker
    Kitty Flemington Walker – Attractive but shy book editor, then stay-at-home mom.
    Character Age
    28 to 44
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any Race or Ethnicity
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • ACTOR #5 (Part 1: Roommates + Part 3: Aftermath): Debbie Klein Carlsen, Vita Sackville-West, Lipo Suction, Brenda Heckenkamp
    Debbie Klein Carlsen – Preppy, funny, and chatty advertising account exec, then stay-at-home mom.
    Vita Sackville-West - English poet, novelist, journalist, diarist, and member of the Bloomsbury Group.
    Lipo Suction - Drag queen (but played by a woman).
    Brenda Heckenkamp – Nosy neighbor with a secret.
    Character Age
    Debbie Carlsen - 28 to 44; Vita Sackville-West - 45; Lipo Suction - Indeterminate; Brenda Heckenkamp - 46.
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any Race or Ethnicity
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • ACTOR #6 (Part 2: Marriage + Part 3: Aftermath): Jenny North, Sally Miller + Voice of Emcee
    Jenny North – A wife in Maine, just widowed.
    Sally Dancy Miller. Chip’s wife. Smart and competent. A bit controlling. Successful Market Researcher before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Has definite ideas about the kind of upper-middle-class life she wants. Driven by her desire to rise above her working-class roots.
    Character Age
    Jenny North - 45; Sally Miller - 19 to 40;
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any Race or Ethnicity
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • ACTOR #7 (Part 1: Roommates + Part 2: Marriage): Richard Hamlin, Todd Wood, Dr. Manzone, Joshua Speed, Leo Schwartz, Tony, Mr. Miller Bouncer + Voice of TV Announcer
    Richard Hamlin – Flamboyant Yale professor.
    Todd Wood – Oversexed businessman from Dallas.
    Doctor Manzone - Gay. Overworked.
    Joshua Speed. Old friend of President Abraham Lincoln.
    Leo Schwartz. Family man. Personable. Driven by his need for sex with men. Deceptive and sneaky.
    Tony. A rough but sexy man. In great shape. Proud of his body. A bit dumb.
    Mr. Miller. Chip’s father. Upper middle-class. White collar job. A guy’s guy. Looks down on effeminate men.
    Bouncer. A little intimidating. Compassionate, but mostly acts tough.
    Character Age
    Richard Hamlin - 30 to 36; Todd Wood - 45; Dr. manzone - 36; Joshua Speed - 48; Leo Schwartz - 40; Tony - 30; Mr. Miller - 44; Bouncer - 32.
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any Race or Ethnicity
    Character Gender Identity
    Male