Character Breakdown
Nathan:
Male, Mid 20s, Caucasian, junior executive, cocky, ambitious,
Midwestern.
Victor:
Male, Late 40s-50s, Puerto Rican, janitor, intelligent, sarcastic.
Angela:
Female, Early 20s, Puerto Rican, intelligent, pretty, street-wise.
Emily:
Female, Mid 20s, Caucasian, intelligent, frustrated, pretty,
socialite.
Play Summary
Nathan,
a corporate climbing, Midwestern transplant, and junior executive, is
working late night in his office in a high-rise in Manhattan. He meets
Victor, a security guard, who visits his office, and they become friendly.
Later that same night he meets Angela, Victor's daughter, who regularly
delivers a home-cooked meal for her father at work. Angela suspects that
Nathan is there to manage mass layoffs, and challenges Nathan to a game of
poker. If she wins, her father avoids the layoff. She wins, and this
impresses Nathan. Angela and Nathan become buddies, and she eventually
brings him meals when she hears he likes a sample of the food given to him
by Victor. Angela becomes even more interested in Nathan. Angela dropped
out of NYU when her mother (Victor’s wife) died, in order to take care
of Victor. Victor wants Angela happy, and focused less on caring for him.
Victor, a recovering alcoholic, works late night to pay for her NYU
tuition. However, Nathan's attention is on Emily, another junior
executive, who is the daughter of his boss. Nathan hears that Emily's
father likes people who make tough decisions, so he figures if he makes a
tough layoff recommendation it would impress him, and increase his chances
with Emily. He ultimately befriends Emily, who wants to escape from her
father's control. Victor advises Nathan against the layoffs, and warns
about the unexpected consequence of such decisions. The layoff becomes
reality. A drunk and depressed laid off worker drives his car through the
city, accidentally killing Angela on the street outside of the workplace
as she is delivering another meal for her father. An anguished Victor is
holding Angela in his arms on the street as Nathan learns about his role
in her death. A depressed Nathan contemplates quitting but is forgiven by
Victor.
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