THEATER 82: PART ONE - Just Playin'

Open-Door Playhouse

Lee Franklin’s play Just Playin’ focuses on a group of men at a rustic cottage in Maine
celebrating the 25th Anniversary of their regular poker game. The next day, their wives (in one case, an ex-wife) gather at the same cottage (after the guys have left) to play Mahjong. The Mahjong game is also marking its 25th Anniversary.
The longevity of these activities suggests that the participants are not kids. These people, boomers all, are in fact seniors. The things that they talk about during the course of their games include what you would expect from people of their generation: aging, their gradual physical decline, sex, memory issues, their grandchildren, the senility and demise of relatives from the generation that preceded them, and concerns of their own mortality. The one divorced man, tormented by regret, is experiencing clinical depression.
What these men and women have are the friendship and genuine regard that they have for each other. None of them will have to face their difficulties alone.
Lee Franklin is the playwright. The UConn graduate resides in Maine. His previous plays include The Sea Nest, Isaac, and The Thesis. A member of the Dramatists Guild, he is also an actor and director.
Open-Door Playhouse is a podcast created to introduce new plays, new writers, and a wealth of unknown talent. Founded by playwright and filmmaker Bernadette Armstrong, Open-Door Playhouse brings plays to the airwaves, in response to the fact that theatres were shuttered all over the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving playwrights with nowhere to produce their plays. Open-Door Playhouse supports new and emerging writers. Since its inception, Open-Door Playhouse has presented over 70 new short plays, with no limit in sight.
Producer: Open-Door Playhouse. Sound engineer: David Peters. Recorded at The Oak House Studio in Altadena, CA. Sound Effects provided by Audio Jungle, music from Karaoke Version.
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