Mrs. Cage.

by Nancy Barr

A one act drama written for a 1-man/1-woman cast. Mrs. Martin Cage is in police custody for the shooting of Phyllis Dean. While in the supermarket that morning, Mrs. Cage witnessed a crime. Billy, an eighteen-year-old boxboy, was helping Phyllis Dean take her groceries to her car when her purse was snatched. Billy tried to stop the thief and was shot in the chest, but as he lay dying Phyllis Dean continued to scream about her stolen purse. So Mrs. Cage picked up the thief's fallen gun and shot her between the eyes. Now Mrs. Cage is being interrogated by Lt. Reuben Angel about the crime, but what she ends up talking about is Her 33-year marriage to Martin, a defense lawyer, who has never lost a case, who is often vulgar, and who no longer really sees his wife, and their daughter, Elizabeth, a civil lawyer, who despises her mother's life of subservience to her husband and is in the middle of her own divorce. As Mrs. Cage talks, she paints a picture of her lonely life and her actions become clearer. She knows what she did was wrong; she has declined her right to have a lawyer present; she is making a full confession; and she is ready to suffer the consequences. She may be the last person in the world willing to take responsibility for her actions.

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

A resident Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Nancy Barr grew up in the tiny town of Rapid River nestled at the top of Little Bay de Noc.
Her favorite memories as a young child are of weekly trips to the neighborhood library with her late mother to spend hours poring over books of all kinds. Her love of reading and writing led her to a career in newspaper journalism where she spent several years covering police, courts, schools and local governments and now works at Michigan Technological University.
An animal aficionado, she lives on the Keweenaw Peninsula with three demanding, but lovable, cats. When not writing, Nancy enjoys hiking and photographing the natural beauty that abounds in the Upper Peninsula.
Her novels include "Page One: Hit and Run" (July 2006, Arbutus Press) and "Page One: Vanished" (May 2007, Arbutus Press). She is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America."

Reviews

[Michelle Hoogterp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting dialogue. I like the pace. I didn't read this for textual analysis so I wonder if there is a lot I'm not immediately getting. I would like to see this performed.