A Stye of the Eye
by Christopher Durang

Name: A Stye of the Eye
Brand: Christopher Durang
SKU: 9780822214601
Rating: 4.09 (176 reviews)

A Stye of the Eye Book Cover — A Stye of the Eye Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

One Act 30 mins 1990s Flexible Cast Size Unit Set/Multiple Settings Comedy

Synopsis

THE STORY: A STYE OF THE EYE.

In this parody of A Lie of the Mind , cowboy Jake is a rage-alcoholic who has probably killed his wife, Beth (played by a male).

Ma, his feisty, no-nonsense mother with a bad memory, thinks Beth “deserved” it and wishes her own husband were dead (he already is) Jake, also schizoid, becomes his own “good brother Frankie” and goes to find Beth's family.

Beth shows up, not dead, but damaged, and talking gibberish.

Jake's sister, Mae, also shows up, in love with her brother.

No problems are solved, but a great deal of “meaning” is in the air.

Press Reviews

"With the help of Mr. Durang, the fine art of parody has returned to theater in a production you can sink teeth and mind into, while also laughing like an idiot. Parody of this comic verve is as much fun as the sort of marvelous party Noel Coward once sang about. I couldn’t have enjoyed it more."
— The New York Times

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
JIM Mid-to-late 30s.	—	30s	Mid-to-late 30s.
MARSHA Mid-to-late 30s.	—	30s	Mid-to-late 30s.
WANDA Mid-to-late 30s.	—	30s	Mid-to-late 30s.
WAITER	—	—	—
TWO HENCHMEN appear briefly at the end of the play. I prefer that you not list these parts in the program, however, so that the audience does not expect these characters to appear.	—	—	appear briefly at the end of the play. I prefer that you not list these parts in the program, however, so that the audience does not expect these characters to appear.