Perfect Arrangement

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Perfect Arrangement

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  4w, 3m

Topher Payne

Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the gay rights movement, Perfect Arrangement merges madcap sitcom-style laughs with provocative drama as two closeted U.S. State Department employees struggle to maintain their cover – and their sanity – in 1950s America.

Perfect Arrangement

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 3m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Period
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

It’s 1950, and new colors are being added to the Red Scare. Two U.S. State Department employees, Bob and Norma, have been tasked with identifying sexual deviants within their ranks. There’s just one problem: Both Bob and Norma are gay, and have married each other’s partners as a carefully constructed cover. Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the American gay rights movement, madcap classic sitcom-style laughs give way to provocative drama as two “All-American” couples are forced to stare down the closet door.

History
Perfect Arrangment premiered at the Source Festival in Washington, D.C. in June 2013, under the direction of Linda Lombardi. The play opened off-Broadway at Primary Stages on September 29, 2015.
Keywords
Performing Groups

BOB MARTINDALE - 30s-40s, A WWII veteran, reserved. A bit bookish, but a solid man's man. Good-humored and well-mannered.
MILLIE MARTINDALE - late 20s-30s,  Bob's wife. Plays "The dizzy wife" when people are in the house, but actually very quick-witted and observant. Smart enough to maintain the act. 
NORMA BAXTER - 30s, The knowing, efficient, classy dame. A secretary at the State Department who could just as easily be Secretary of State. A smart woman who's great with a wisecrack and level-headed in a bind.
JIM BAXTER - 20s-30s, Norma's husband. A prankster type, always ready with a comeback. A high school teacher with lots of energy. A little wired, good with a plan. 
THEODORE SUNDERSON - 40s-50s, The boss. Bombastic, loud, a little overbearing. A patriotic windbag.
KITTY SUNDERSON - 40s, Ted's wife. Legitimately ditzy. Her brain seems to work on a totally different wavelength than the rest of the world. Very sweet, and very genuine. Just doesn't quite "get it".
BARBARA GRANT - 40s, A formidable opponent. No-nonsense, beautiful, brilliant, and a little scary.

  • Time Period 1950s
  • Setting

    The living room of the Martindales’ Georgetown duplex in Washington, D.C. Spring, 1950.

  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Not Applicable
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol

Media

“[A] clever canapé of a comedy... Mr. Payne is a deft and witty writer.” – The New York Times

“The best thing about Topher Payne’s fabulous Perfect Arrangement is its pitch-perfect capture of the 1950s comic voice, and its application to the dreadfully serious drama.” – DC Theatre Scene, Read More

“Usually a playwright has to choose between writing a laugh-out-loud comedy and a very serious drama. Topher Payne has written both with Perfect Arrangment.” – TheatreMania, Read More

“As hiding gets harder, pitch-perfect comedy ensues: slamming doors, strange disguises, preposterous excuses... Eventually, the four must decide whether face-saving domestic lies are worth it, or whether ostracism beats living in fear. In our own era of surveillance and paranoia, their mid-century problems don’t feel so far away.” – The New Yorker

“[A] clever canapé of a comedy... Mr. Payne is a deft and witty writer.” – The New York Times, Read More

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

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Authors

Topher Payne

Topher Payne

In 2014, The American Theatre Critics Association awarded Topher Payne’s play Perfect Arrangement the M. Elizabeth Osborn Prize for Best Play by an Emerging Playwright. The play went on to be produced off-Broadway in 2015 by Primary Stages and MARS Theatricals, and was a fina ...

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