Pops.

by Romulus Linney

Unified by their shared theme of the myriad aspects of love, the plays are also related by their "musical" titles, which further underscore the author's intention of creating a "pops program" of short and virtuosic pieces. The first play, CAN CAN, is a poignant and telling fugue of overlapping soliloquies in which an ex-GI recalls his brief love affair with a French girl, while a Nashville housewife tells of the strange bond she feels for an older country woman. (1 man, 3 women.) CLAIR DE LUNE finds an older, retired couple basking in the solitude of Florida, while reminiscing, with some regret, about their chronically hell-raising children. (1 man, 1 woman.) In AVE MARIA, a tenth-century nun, Hrosvitha, the only female playwright of her time, confronts an outraged monk who is shocked by her contention that love is both spiritual and sensual. (2 men, 3 women.) GOLD AND SILVER WALTZ is a touching monologue about boyhood and first love in which the sole character is the author himself. (1 man.) YANKEE DOODLE finds a tipsy Jesse Grant, son of President Grant, at Windsor Castle and faced with a humbling slight from Queen Victoria. (2 man, 1 woman.) SONGS OF LOVE is a warmly comic study of two doughty nursing home residents who decide to marry despite the explosive reactions of their children. (3 men, 3 women.)

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998