For Burton Quinn, the opening night of an extremely “out-of-town” production of THE DELIGHTFULLY DEAD KINSMAN in Binghamton, New York, is an ambitious return to the roaring 20's-style Broadway musical that nearly made him famous four decades earlier. Certainly, the material still holds magic for Burton, even though he has graduated from the romantic lead to the patriarchal role and now has to share a dressing room with the very green Billy Caulfield, Kinsman's new leading man. Technical difficulties delay the curtain, though, prolonging Billy's nervous agony and bringing hope to Burton that Tovah—his wife and good luck charm—might still arrive on time.

When Burton’s estranged son, John, arrives instead, with news that Tovah is leaving the marriage, the earth stands still, then shatters at Burton’s feet. John tries to convince his father to give chase, yet Burton is convinced the only happy return to Brooklyn is as an unmitigated success. Finally, the gloves come off. John demands his father, for once, choose people who care for him, over a mistress—the theatre—that has always taken and never given back.