Possum Dreams by Ed Falco

In Possum Dreams a married couple is caught in the unraveling of illusions that have held them together for eighteen years. The play opens with Walter distressed because a transgender student has been flirting with him in class. He goes on to request some surprising sexual behavior from his wife, Jan, arguing that he wants to shake up their relationship. After Jan refuses, he admits that he's had an...
In Possum Dreams a married couple is caught in the unraveling of illusions that have held them together for eighteen years. The play opens with Walter distressed because a transgender student has been flirting with him in class. He goes on to request some surprising sexual behavior from his wife, Jan, arguing that he wants to shake up their relationship. After Jan refuses, he admits that he's had an affair with his transgender student. From there, the play evolves into a battle, physical and emotional, that tears up both the characters and the set, and gives us a look at the chaos under the surface of Walter’s and Jan’s life.
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Reading List

Possum Dreams

Write a recommendation

Character Information

The play is a two-hander; however, in the final moments of the play, we hear the voice of a third character, one of the children of the two principal characters. He or she speaks a total of 8 words, and it can handled with a recording if necessary.

  • Walter Landing
    40,
    Any
    ,
    Male, it's complicated, confused
    Jan’s husband, father of her children. Button-down look, tweed-jacket-with-arm-patches look. He’s a writer and an adjunct professor teaching creative writing at a local college.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Jan Landing
    43,
    Any
    ,
    straight, heterosexual
    Neat-and-clean. Carefully put together from hair to shoes. She’s a full-time wife and mother of 18-year-old twins. At the start of the play, she should appear conservatively dressed, with a reserved, upper middle-class air.

    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Urban Stages--with Edie Falco and John Benjamin Hickey
    ,
    2008

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    None Too Fragile Theatre
    ,
    2014

Awards

Winner
,
Cleveland Stages Ten Best Plays of 2014
,
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
,
2014
Finalist
,
Best Actor
,
Cleveland Critics Circle
,
2014
Finalist
,
Best Director
,
Cleveland Critics Circle
,
2014