Canyon's Edge

Play #76 (Make-up #16) - Canyon's Edge by Barbara Lindsay

Okay, this one was really sweet. Roy and his wife Coral (both in their 60s) are standing looking out over the Grand Canyon. Coral is quite excited and idealistic about it, Roy remains mostly quiet. Suddenly, a young woman in her 20s-30s (Kathy) rushes over as if she is about to hurl a ring into the canyon, but she can't quite do it, so instead she just lets out a wail that dissolves into a sob. Coral prompts Roy to go over and ask Kathy what's wrong. It turns out that Kathy has just left her husband - because he cheats on their taxes. Nothing big, but she is pregnant, and she's just realized that she doesn't know if she wants this petty, stingy man to be the father of her child. Coral applauds the decision, and Roy isn't quite sure what to say. But he does go on to tell Kathy the story of his own marriage - how much his wife had always wanted to come to the Grand Canyon, but he was always too busy. It is only now that he's retired that he has the time to come. He encourages Kathy to go back to her husband and encourage him to be the man that he should be - that he would thank her for pushing him not to regret the man he should have been. 

There is a nice little twist in the middle of this script that I don't want to mention because I would hate to spoil it for anyone who might stumble upon this little gem. But it really is a sincere little piece, with a pretty decent monologue for Kathy to boot!