Mourning Woods Merengue by Kim E. Ruyle

[Full-Length]
After being forced out of his job, Loren, a resident of Mourning Woods Village, is deeply depressed. Shar, his next-door neighbor, is determined to reanimate and romance Loren. She invites him to partner in a dance contest with the support of Paloma, the earthy, vivacious activities coordinator who ludicrously supports the matchmaking. Adult children jump in and complicate things with...
[Full-Length]
After being forced out of his job, Loren, a resident of Mourning Woods Village, is deeply depressed. Shar, his next-door neighbor, is determined to reanimate and romance Loren. She invites him to partner in a dance contest with the support of Paloma, the earthy, vivacious activities coordinator who ludicrously supports the matchmaking. Adult children jump in and complicate things with their own problems and interference. In the end, will anyone find romance? Will anyone even dance?
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Mourning Woods Merengue

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  • Lee R. Lawing:
    22 Jul. 2023
    “ Relevance is such a big word and the debate of who is and not relevant would vary greatly in our world of billions. This play gives us that question front and center and the characters all jump through their necessary hoops, and be it "being let go too soon from your job" or "being a world-class mothering type", in the end, it is so important to allow each and every one of us to own up to our relevance but also allow us time to reassess that and shift gears if necessary. ”

LOREN HOLMES Male. 60s. Reserved, dispirited. Divorced. Forced into early retirement. Eternal pessimist.
SHAR SHIMMELS Female. 60s. Bubbly, energetic. Widowed. Retired. Eternal optimist.
JOE HOLMES Male. 40s. Loren’s troubled, disappointment of a son. Single. Mechanic. Often stutters on initial, back-of-throat consonants, e.g., words beginning with c, g, and k. Stuttering is more pronounced when he’s stressed. Most stuttering not explicitly identified in dialogue and at the director’s/actor’s discretion.
HELEN SHIMMELS-COX Female. 40s. Shar’s interfering, uptight daughter. Divorced. Assistant district attorney.
PALOMA GUTTIEREZ Female. 20s. Aspiring choreographer. Has the moves. A bundle of Latin energy.
Note: Ethnic diversity encouraged and at the director’s discretion.

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Chicago Dramatists First Draft Program - Online Reading
    ,
    2023
  • Reading
    ,
    Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts
    ,
    2023