ODD
by Hal Corley

Name: ODD
Brand: Hal Corley
SKU: 9780573697289
Rating: 4 (3 reviews)

Highlights

Female

Male

120 mins Present Day Ensemble Cast Unit Set/Multiple Settings Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes

Synopsis

Anna Marie has raised her surly, contentious son Micah alone.

Though Micah has long been pharmaceutically treated for his O.D.D. — Oppositional Defiance Disorder — she's desperate to introduce a paternal influence.

Anna Marie hires Joe Eskin, an itinerant waiter with a vague past and take-no-prisoners tutoring style.

Over one critical autumn Joe brings focus and structure to Micah's daily life.

But as he opens incurious Micah's eyes to a world outside his sleepy New Jersey suburb, Joe ingratiates himself into the family and inadvertently stirs in Anna Marie dormant romantic longing.

In a revelatory battle royal, Micah realizes that equally combative Joe is a kindred spirit — likely "O.D.D."

himself.

When Micah attracts the brilliant but volatile Ilona, Joe's Cyrano-like coaching to help Micah romance the older girl segues into near obsession.

Though smitten Anna Marie remains oblivious, Ilona slowly realizes that Joe's emotional investment in Micah is invasive and threatening.

During a Halloween trip into rain-drenched New York City, Ilona ends Joe's control by confronting him in front of Micah, with life-altering results.

Exploring the challenges of teen isolation, single parenting, and our dependence on drug therapy as a panacea, ODD illuminates the terror and heartbreak that bind a unique quartet.

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Joe 40's; an enigmatic loner, not without charisma; straightforward and compassionate but at times impatient, intermittently inaccessible, and prone to flashes of hostility	—	40s	40's; an enigmatic loner, not without charisma; straightforward and compassionate but at times impatient, intermittently inaccessible, and prone to flashes of hostility
Anna Marie 38, Micah's mother; wan, palpably beleaguered, and classically battle-fatigued from the parenting wars; defensively edgy but aching for a gentler existence	female	—	38, Micah's mother; wan, palpably beleaguered, and classically battle-fatigued from the parenting wars; defensively edgy but aching for a gentler existence
Ilona 17, Micah's peer tutor, aggressively ambitious and self-possessed; though both sharp and sharp-tongued, genuinely responsive to tenderness	—	—	17, Micah's peer tutor, aggressively ambitious and self-possessed; though both sharp and sharp-tongued, genuinely responsive to tenderness
Micah 15; wounded and raging, cynical and untrusting; yet with lucid glimmers of vulnerability and on rare occasions, even a sense of wonder	—	—	15; wounded and raging, cynical and untrusting; yet with lucid glimmers of vulnerability and on rare occasions, even a sense of wonder