Rose's Dilemma

by Neil Simon
directed by Glen Piper
Thurs.-Sat., April 5-21, 8:00 p.m.
The Davies Foundation Auditorium
52 Church St., Kingston, ON

L-R: Phil Perrin, Nancy Slater, Penny Nash, Brent Neely.

Rose Steiner is a celebrated playwright, but she hasn't written anything since the death of her lover, Walsh McLaren, and the money is running out.

The solution turns out to be a ghostwriter - Walsh himself, or rather his ghost. Rose has, or imagines she has, long conversations with him - and more, much to her young protegée Arlene's embarrasment.

Walsh's answer to Rose's financial dilemma is that she should complete his last, unfinished novel with the aid of a young novelist,

Nancy Slater and Brent Neely

Rose's Dilemma had its debut at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2003. Its main characters are loosely based on the playwright Lillian Hellman (The Children's Hour, Toys in the Attic, The Little Foxes and detective novelist Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man, The Glass Key, whose relationship in real life lasted 30 years until Hammett's death in 1961.

Neil Simon

Neil Simon was born in New York in 1927. He started his career in the 1940s writing scripts for radio and television with his brother Danny, then moved on to writing for the New York theatre.

His first Broadway production was a revue called Catch a Star, written with his brother Danny. His first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, opened in 1961.

His best-known plays since then include The Odd Couple, The Goodbye Girl, Lost in Yonkers and the autobiographical trilogy Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound.

Simon has won three Tony awards (for The Odd Couple and Biloxi Blues plus a special Tony for contribution to theatre in 1975) and has had more plays adapted for film than any other American playwright. In 1983 he became the only living American playwright to have a Broadway theatre named after him.

Links