Apocalyptic Butterflies.

by Wendy Macleod

Cooped up in their cramped cottage in a remote part of Maine, Hank and Muriel Tater are beginning to get on each others nerves. They have still not agreed on a name for their seven-week-old daughter, Muriel refuses to accept motherhood and housework as a full-time occupation, Hank is having an affair with a busty checkout girl at the local IGA store and, to top it all off, Hank's father has dumped a load of totem poles in their front yard, hoping to jar Hank out of his "traditional thought patterns." In fact, a general shaking-up is what Hank and Muriel need if they are to overcome the resentment and constant bickering which have beset their young marriage, and in a series of wildly funny scenes, that is exactly what they get. It all comes to a boil when Muriel catches Hank in the arms of Trudi, his supermarket bimbo, but as things can't get worse they actually (and miraculously) get better, much to the bemusement of Hank's delightfully eccentric parents. In truth, Hank and Muriel really do love each other, and somehow Hank's infidelity, and the anguish he feels when he is found out, mark a sea change for both of them, leading to their joint recognition that, to find the happiness that has eluded them thus far, they must seek out the "transcendence" that, they know, can yet transform and enrich a marriage well worth saving.

Genres: Plays, Drama

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Timur Markowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always love MacLeod’s character dynamics

[Jack Zapsalis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why did this dood cut is his toe off tho

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Macleod's subject matter is usually fantastical in nature, in the very least it can't be called mundane. Despite her track record and the anything-but title this one is just that. That is not to say that it is boring. Her dialogue is still spectacularly quick and hilarious but the circumstances that frame it are a bit blah for me.
It is the age-old tale of a selfish, child-like man cheating on his wife because he didn't feel that he was getting enough or the kind of attention he deserved. Forget the extenuating circumstances of a stay at home mother, a few months new to the gig. The whole thing just left me feeling a little sad and indignant towards the the man. Of course, this was probably her intention but I usually put down her plays with a huge smile on my face not a bad taste in my mouth. I still love her though. She is a dialogue GOD!