Lions
by Vince Melocchi

Name: Lions
Brand: Vince Melocchi
SKU: 9780573696312
Rating: 5 (4 reviews)

Highlights

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Large Cast

Female

Male

120 mins Present Day Role(s) for Black Actor(s) Interior Set Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes American Comedy

Synopsis

Dramatic Comedy / 9m, 3f / Interior It's the 2007 NFL season and the Detroit Lions are on a winning streak - unfortunately out of work steelworker John Waite is not.

With humor and humanity, playwright Vince Melocchi offers a glimpse into The Tenth Ward Club, where the patrons place their hopes on their team, and attempt to escape the creeping demise of their city and of their way of life.

[Lions] is a drama that speaks directly to our country's current state of affairs, which is to say it's a play about unemployment, hardship and economic collapse.

If that sounds like a depressing thematic lineup, the play itself is far from being a downer.

'Lions' takes an unsentimental look at a ravaged cross-section of present-day Detroit and tells a story of compassion in a cold climate...Melocchi's play is a smart, humanistic...observation of working-class survivalism.

- Los Angeles Times Lions is about hope...about the endurance of a middle class getting squeezed...finding life amid the lifeless - Drew Sharp, Detroit Free Press ...an all-around touching portrait of Middle America, a reminder that 'real Americans' need not be so reductively characterized as Joe the Plumber.

- L.A.Weekly

Press Reviews

"GO...an all-around touching portrait of Middle America, a reminder that 'real Americans' need not be so reductively characterized as Joe the Plumber."
— L.A. Weekly

"Playwright Vince Melocchi’s somber ensemble drama about a group of underachieving pals hanging out at a Detroit neighborhood bar, watching their lives drift down the toilet as the economy tanks around them, possesses a worldly prescience, neatly anticipating the country’s current fiscal woes."
— Backstage West

"In Vince Melocchi’s play, Lions, we are privy to the hardships of a group of downtrodden men and women who are faced with the economic sufferings of today’s world. Playing at the Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice, Lions is a compelling play, performed with realism by a gifted cast under the direction of Guellermo Cienfuegos."
— Stagehappenings

"Lions is about hope…about the endurance of a middle class getting squeezed…finding life amid the lifeless"
— Detroit Free Press

"[Lions] is a drama that speaks directly to our country's current state of affairs, which is to say it's a play about unemployment, hardship and economic collapse. If that sounds like a depressing thematic lineup, the play itself is far from being a downer. 'Lions' takes an unsentimental look at a ravaged cross-section of present-day Detroit and tells a story of compassion in a cold climate....Melocchi's play is a smart, humanistic...observation of working-class survivalism."
— Los Angeles Times

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Leon “Biscuit” Croissant African-American. Late forties, works for the Detroit morgue.	—	—	African-American. Late forties, works for the Detroit morgue.
Andy Guerall Causasian.Early thirties. Bartender at The 10th Ward Club.	—	—	Causasian.Early thirties. Bartender at The 10th Ward Club.
Bill “Housepie” Folino Causasian. Late fifties.	—	—	Causasian. Late fifties.
Curtis Sawer African American. Late twenties. Grocery store bagger.	—	—	African American. Late twenties. Grocery store bagger.
Beth Waite John’s wife. Any Ethnicity.Mid forties.	female	—	John’s wife. Any Ethnicity.Mid forties.
Artie Piro Causasian. Twenty-four, childhood friend of John Waite. Appears only in memory.	—	—	Causasian. Twenty-four, childhood friend of John Waite. Appears only in memory.
Gail Finch Any Ethnicity. Mid forties. Waitress at the local diner.	—	—	Any Ethnicity. Mid forties. Waitress at the local diner.
Larry Gerber Causasian.Late forties, local pizza shop owner.	—	—	Causasian.Late forties, local pizza shop owner.
Reverend Russell Stuvants African American. Early fifties, a man of the cloth.	—	—	African American. Early fifties, a man of the cloth.
Mabel Johnson African American. Late-fifties. A job placement coun-selor.	—	—	African American. Late-fifties. A job placement coun-selor.
Jerry “Lennie” Lenhart Any Ethnicity. Bartender at The 10th ward club. Mid-forties.	—	—	Any Ethnicity. Bartender at The 10th ward club. Mid-forties.
Man (Aka Chicago) Any Ethnicity. A Chicago Bears fan.	—	—	Any Ethnicity. A Chicago Bears fan.
John “Spook” Waite Caucasian. Late forties, unemployed factory worker.	—	—	Caucasian. Late forties, unemployed factory worker.