The Proposal
In this fast-paced play of dialogue-based action and situational comedy, Ivan Vassilievich Lomov, a long-time neighbor of Stepan Stepanich Chubukov, has come to propose marriage to Chubukov’s 25-year-old daughter, Natasha. After he has asked and received joyful permission to marry Natasha, she is invited into the room, and he tries to convey to her the proposal. Lomov is a hypochondriac and, while trying to make clear his reasons for being there, he gets into an argument with Natasha about Meadowland, a disputed piece of land between their respective properties, which results in him having “heart murmurs” and numbness in his leg. After her father notices they are arguing, he joins in, and then sends Ivan out of the house. While Stepan rants about Lomov, he expresses his shock that “this fool dares to make you (Natasha) a proposal of marriage!” She immediately starts into hysterics, begging for her father to bring him back. He does, and Natasha and Ivan get into a second big argument, this time about the superiority of their respective hunting dogs, Messer and Guesser. Ivan collapses from his exhaustion over arguing, and father and daughter fear he’s dead. However, after a few minutes he regains consciousness, and Chubukov all but forces him and his daughter to accept the proposal with a kiss. Immediately following the kiss, the couple gets into another argument.
Leon and Joey
Leon, a simple man with a complex fantasy life, desperately tries to save his twin brother Joey from committing suicide by attempting to show him the true beauty of this world and the people in it. He seeks help and counsel from Mo-Billy — his quirky and mystical wood-nymph friend, whom Joey writes off as “imaginary”. Meanwhile, Joey — fighting a dark internal battle, and convinced that he himself is nothing but darkness and evil — is hell bent on his own demise, and sets out to find someone who will care for his brother Leon once he is gone. In answering an ad in the personals, Joey meets Gina — a young woman trained in the art of witchcraft who, despite a painfully dark past and a severe facial deformity, is a beacon of love, light, and hope. Comedy, tragedy, and magic ensue as these fantastically human characters clash in a battle between light and dark, life and death, hope and fear in their attempts to show Joey that there is a light within this world worth living for.
Leon and Joey examines the battle between light and dark within each of us, and explores the transformative power of love and hope. While comedic and touching, this story delves into the depths of pain, anger and fear, and juxtaposes the consequences of trying to carry our greatest burdens alone with the potential of true human connection to overcome the darkest forces in this world.
Production Team
