Play #87 - On the Beach by Lucile Lichtblau
Phil and Claire (all I can see is the characters from Modern Family) are a couple in their 60s, hanging out on their favorite beach on some Caribbean island, just as they have every year for probably a good long while. Apparently things are on their way to changing though. It seems likely that this undisturbed little beach is soon to be developed. And there is also a suggestion that Claire may be facing some kind of illness. Then, enter Tiffany and Darren. They are on their honeymoon, and they are determined not to make any mistakes so that they can live as close to a perfect life as possible. This perfection includes not eating any meat or processed foods of any kind. Tiffany explains that, with her mode of living (into which she has enveloped Darren), there is no reason they shouldn't be able to live for hundreds of years, just like people did in the Bible. After relating how they met and how harmful all those bad foods are, Tiffany and Darren run off for a two-mile swim, leaving Phil and Claire to watch their stuff. Phil and Claire then bust out the egg salad and tuna sandwiches, as Claire reflects that it wouldn't be much fun living for hundreds of years without those.
This play is a nice little intersection between the exuberance of youth and the comfort of age; the ignorance of youth and the reality of age; the hopefulness of youth and the harsh truths of age. I do think that Tiffany and Darren come off a little too flakey (Tiff-Tiff and Dada?) to really be sympathetic. But Phil and Claire are really kind of darling. And the idea of living forever when faced with a very real personal mortality, it's pretty enticing, even if it's a little silly.
Phil and Claire (all I can see is the characters from Modern Family) are a couple in their 60s, hanging out on their favorite beach on some Caribbean island, just as they have every year for probably a good long while. Apparently things are on their way to changing though. It seems likely that this undisturbed little beach is soon to be developed. And there is also a suggestion that Claire may be facing some kind of illness. Then, enter Tiffany and Darren. They are on their honeymoon, and they are determined not to make any mistakes so that they can live as close to a perfect life as possible. This perfection includes not eating any meat or processed foods of any kind. Tiffany explains that, with her mode of living (into which she has enveloped Darren), there is no reason they shouldn't be able to live for hundreds of years, just like people did in the Bible. After relating how they met and how harmful all those bad foods are, Tiffany and Darren run off for a two-mile swim, leaving Phil and Claire to watch their stuff. Phil and Claire then bust out the egg salad and tuna sandwiches, as Claire reflects that it wouldn't be much fun living for hundreds of years without those.
This play is a nice little intersection between the exuberance of youth and the comfort of age; the ignorance of youth and the reality of age; the hopefulness of youth and the harsh truths of age. I do think that Tiffany and Darren come off a little too flakey (Tiff-Tiff and Dada?) to really be sympathetic. But Phil and Claire are really kind of darling. And the idea of living forever when faced with a very real personal mortality, it's pretty enticing, even if it's a little silly.
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