Impossible Marriage

by Beth Henley

: The entire action of the play takes place in Kandall Kingsley's beautiful and mysterious garden. Kandall's youngest daughter, Pandora, is to be wed to Edvard Lunt, a worldly artist twice her age. Kandall does not think the match to be at all suitable. Flora, Pandora's older sister, who is expecting a child at any moment, plots to break off the marriage. Unexpectedly, Sidney Lunt, the groom's son, arrives with a note from his mother in which she vows to throw herself from an attic window if the marriage goes forward. Even Reverend Lawrence who has come to wed the couple has secret hopes and desperate desires. Throughout this wildly funny and moving play the characters struggle heroically with the impossibility of finding an allegiance between their civilized duties and primitive desires.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama

45 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Elizabeth Becker "Beth" Henley is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress. Her play Crimes of the Heart won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 1981 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play, and a nomination for a Tony Award.

Reviews

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS PLAY IS SO FUNNY

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

How impossibly unjust that people tend to think Henley's career peaked with "Crimes of the Heart" and "The Miss Firecracker Contest" given that she's continued to deliver delightful plays since then like this quirky comedy in which a handful of mismatched couples struggle to make sense of it all during the 24 hours leading up to a probably doomed marriage. Her characters are vivid; the punchlines assured; the overall effect, beyond charming.

[Bt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably like 2.5 stars? It didn't really do much for me. It was just plain fine. There were some interesting things going on between some of the characters... maybe if I'd seen it rather than read it, it would have been really good.

The play is mostly short scenes between 2 or 3 people (people are always entering or exiting). There aren't any scenes long enough to use for classwork/standalone performance, and I didn't see any good monologues either.

Also, it's mostly about people being selfish, betraying each other, and being unfaithful, which is not really my cup of tea. None of the marriages in the play are happy or healthy. There is so much infidelity in the world already... I like to see plays where couples stick together and work everything out.

[Aletha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preview for my drama course. Pretty good. Fun to teach and see what happens with the characters.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting in an offbeat, farcical kind of way. It was funny, I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't want to do it.