Last Words and Mother's Day: Two Plays

LAST WORDSThis comedy takes place in an exclusive nursing home. Miss Larson, frustrated at being surrounded by people who neither understand nor appreciate her or the things she loves, has taken to speaking in nothing but quotes of the last words of famous people. Although the clear intent of this strategy is to give all who encounter her the impression that she is senile, and thereby afford her some peace and quiet, we understand from the outset that it is a cry for attention - the right attention. A young man, Greg, meets her while waiting for his lover, who is considering the nursing home for his father. He figures out her charade and why she indulges in it. MOTHER'S DAYAt the start of the drama, Mother appears to be the recipient of parental abuse, but as the play unfolds, we discover that her middle-aged daughter must deal with a troubling situation - how to care for an elderly parent determined to commit suicide. It's Mother's Day, again, and time is running out. Mother wants her daughter Marian to understand and assist her so she can end it all before her son Jimmy comes home to visit. For Marian, every day is Mother's Day.