THREE VIEWINGS

by Jeffrey Hatcher
1M,2W
Three comic/dramatic monologues set in a midwestern funeral parlor.
Performed separately,the three stories interweave to portray the deceased
and the bereaved, and the lengths to which survivors go to hold on to
memories, money, life and love.

TELL-TALEis the story of Emil, the mild-mannered undertaker whose

unspoken passion for a local real estate woman who comes to all his fu-
nerals propels him to plot a wayto confess his true feelings before time
- and bodies - run out.

THE THIEF OF TEARS is Mac, a beautiful Los Angeles drifter, who

makes her living stealingjewelry from corpses. When her wealthy grand-
mother dies, leaving her nothing, Mac returns to her hometown and at-
tempts to pry loose her inheritance, a diamond ring her grandmother
promised Mac when. she was a child. Her attempt leads Mac to find
there are more obstacles to getting the ring off grandma's finger than
she had imagined, and more revelations about her own past than she
had bargained for.

.THIRTEf;N THINGS ABOUT ED CARPOLOITI is the story of Vir-

ginia, the widow of a wheeler-dealer contractor, who discovers that her
husband has left her in debt to the banks, her family,and the mob. As
Vfrginia struggles to escape her creditors and understand how her hus-
~ band. could have left her in such pain and doubt, a mysterious list of
"thirteen things" embarrassing to Ed is offered to her if she can come
up with one million dollars in two days. Virginia doesn't have the
money, but she does have hidden resources, and is saved by an unseen
benefactor. As the play ends, Virginia's benefactor is revealed, along
with what the mysterious "thirteen things" are - revelations that resur-
rect the love and trust thought lost forever.

"THREE VIEWINGS is essential viewing.... ' - New York Magazine

"... beautifully spun tales that have the cumulative impact - and surprise
payoffs.... of one of the seasons small indisputable triumphs. ' - Variety

"Nowadays it is rare to encounter a genuine writer in the theater - someone,

that is, who thinks about such things as character and structure.csomeonewho
has a genuine feel for language.:So when such a thing comesalong, its exciting.
Jeffrey Hatcherj's] ... THREE VIEWINGS is the genuine article.... Hatchers
voice is one I want to hear again soon.· - New York Daily News

Also by Jeffrey Hatcher

SCOTLAND ROAD

ISBN: 0-8222-1494-6 Catalogue No.: 6116