Autumn Elegy
by Charlene Redick

An elderly married couple, Manny and Ceil, live a spartan existence in a cabin in the woods, even though they are financially well-off due to Manny’s New York stock market investments.

For over a half-century, Ceil has taken care of Manny, indulging his quirks and turning the bucolic cabin into a refuge against the world’s often harsh realities.

Now, Ceil is dying of cancer, and Manny cannot accept the inescapable reality of her illness: that she must leave him to go into a hospital.

He is selfish and irascible, yes, but he deeply loves his wife and knows that, once she is gone, he himself will cease to exist.

This lovely drama with two superb roles for elderly performers was the surprise hit of the 1989 Humana Festival at Actor’s Theatre of Louisville.