Waiting for the Ball to Drop examines the lives of seven friends over six holidays in 2001. The central character, Max, a pot-smoking, cybersex-addicted playwright, is writing the play we are watching; he struggles with issues of intimacy with his lover of 14 years, Bert, a retired financial risk manager looking for the ‘next thing’ in his life. We are introduced to his best friends at a big New Year’s Eve party: Wally, Patty Rue, Mickey and Mikey, all of them New Yorkers in the arts and food service industries; and all suffering from some form of addiction and stagnation in their lives, despite their jovial, contented masks. Shamus, Max’s ex-roommate and a meth addict/masseur, upends the party, spewing ugly truths as he spirals out of control. The friends stage an impromptu intervention, but Shamus runs out before the stroke of 12, only to suffer a violent gay bashing down in the street. By Valentines Day, Shamus is convalescing with Max and Bert, where he will wind up staying through the end of the year; he lost an eye in the gay bashing, but gained a psychic third eye. Shocking his friends, he reveals their deepest secrets and as well as their futures. By the Fourth of July, tension threatens to rip apart all the relationships. Bert discovers Max’s violent cyber sex addiction and smashes his IMac before heading up to the Catskills by himself, feeling betrayed by his lover. Act One ends on the morning of 9/11: Max is newly sober and doing a sun salutation when the first plane slams into the World Trade Center, directly downtown. Max and Bert stare in shock: black-out.

Act Two picks up immediately where we left off; Max and Bert staring in shock. When Bert runs out to pick up some food for his stranded friends, Max and Shamus have a fist-fight. Despite their differences, all the friends gather in the loft to comfort each other while the world turns upside down. By Halloween, Bert has found a place up in the Hudson Valley, and Max must decide if he is going to move with him, or stay here in the city. By this point, he is finally able to deal with the underlying issues of maternal incest that may have impacted his self-abusive behavior as an adult, and takes the first necessary steps in forgiving her, and himself. A month later, death intrudes upon the enclave of friends; Max and Bert work through their problems and sign a marriage agreement, deciding to stay together, warts and all. By New Years Eve, all the friends move forward in their lives, in small steps, out of stagnation. Max and Bert are packed and ready to move up to the Hudson Valley. Max finds forgiveness for himself, forgives his mother, and embraces the love he has with Bert. He finishes his play, looking out into the future with his friends, as the crowds in the street below count in the new year. Lights slowly fade to black. End of play.