Three the Hard Way

by Linda Eisenstein

Albert & Kathleen play pool. Murray State University production; photo: James I. Schempp

SYNOPSIS: A rundown Reno motel. Three unconventional sisters meet after the sudden death of their colorful gambler father, Albert. As they go through his effects and make funeral arrangements, they also try to make sense of their past and their own spiky relationships -- with the kibitzing ghost of Albert looking on. 2 acts, 100 minutes. Comedy/drama. CAST: 3f (20's-30's); 1m (50's-60's). SET: Spare unit set, evoking parts of a pool hall; a cheap motel room; a funeral parlor; a casino cocktail lounge; and the memories of the characters.

"Achieves a mood of poignancy...but always quickened with quirky humor and sudden laughs. The play is not at all leaden or depressing but has the ring of true life to it. It is a fine character study, with an absolute minimum of props and no scenery - all the better to let the actors shine. The work is disciplined, well constructed, sometimes tart, sometimes sentimental but always of a piece." - Omaha World-Herald Full review

PRODUCTION HISTORY:

• Productions: Dobama Theatre (Cleveland); Theatre Suburbia (Houston); GodBox Productions (Bloomington, IN); St. Mary's University of Minnesota; Stage 3 (Sonora, CA); Albany Civic Theatre (OR); Pacific Arts Center Theatre (Arcata, CA); Murray State University (KY); Muskingum College (OH); SNAP! Productions (Omaha, NE); Front Row Theatre (Oakhurst, CA), New Edgecliff (Cincinnati)
• Readings/workshops (selected): Eureka Theatre Company, Chamber Theatre (San Francisco); Warehouse Repertory Theatre (Mendocino); Unicorn Theatre (Kansas City); Acme Acting Company (Miami), Theatre With Your Coffee (FL); Shotgun Productions, Metropolitan Playhouse, (NYC); Barrington Stage Co. (MA)

"Three the Hard Way captures universal themes in a moving, identifiable manner -- the hopes and fears of parenthood, the struggle for a balance between personal independence and a sense of belonging, and the search for meaning in both life and death...Witty, realistic..." - Corvallis (OR) Gazette-Times

CAST OF CHARACTERS
KATHLEEN	mid-late 30's	Has an eldest child's responsibilities and resentments; a tough negotiator and pool player, she tries in vain to keep things under control and on track.
IRENE	early-mid 30's	A chip off the old block: a compulsive, intuitive gambler and jokey flirt who'd rather forget the funeral and head straight for the casino.
MARY	early-late 20's	"Mary Sunshine", a vulnerable waitress, can feel her family falling apart at the seams; the family's emotional caretaker, she has the rosiest memories and the most open grief.
ALBERT	late 50's	A Zen pool and craps player. In death a helpless observer, he must come to terms with the kind of well-intentioned but haphazard parent he has been.

"A very accomplished work, especially the dialogue, which crackles with humor but always sounds like real people talking to each other... The idea for the play is intriguing -- the reunion of three very different women, who each see their father, an itinerant gambler and pool-player, in a very different light, almost as if they were each members of different families. Around them as a kind of check on their perceptions wanders Albert himself, interacting, commenting, listening, playing out various moments in the past." - The Plain Dealer (OH)

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