Characters

Ruben Green a college student

Adult Ruben Ruben, 20 yrs later

Marlene Greene Ruben’s wife

Aunt Daff Ruben’s Aunt

Renee a girl in high school

Renee’s mother Renee’s mother

Dr. Stercoff Ruben’s college professor

Mrs. Stercoff the professor’s wife

Frank a roommate

Annabel a twelve year old English girl

Margie an elderly black woman

J. D. Salinger an elderly man

Character Descriptions

Ruben Greene

Ruben is intelligent, cynical, self-absorbed, pained, and sarcastic. Having just been a child a few years before, he did not make it through adolescence and into early adulthood unscathed. He’s desperate for a date with Renee, and equally desperate not to be bothered by Aunt Daff. His mood lifts when he is with Annabel and Margie. The play traces his descent into despondency. When things become most hopeless, he finally gets the sign of a lift — thanks to a letter, and package, from Annabel.

Comic interpretation: Everybody in the play takes Ruben seriously, even though he’s an unstable, miserable wimp who exercises poor judgment and can’t even kill himself properly.

Aunt Daff

The busy caretaker of the family. Because she cares so much, and does so much, the others (including Ruben) take her for granted and treat her cruelly. She complains about her husband, Aunt Gertie, her daughter, and Ruben. She is powerful because others depend upon her. When she wants Ruben to have dinner with her, she’s been visiting the sick and looking for a little relief. Ironically, she brings so much pain to the table that Ruben (who finds her overbearing) isn’t sensitive enough, and isn’t giving enough, to be with her.

Renee

She’s flirtatious, and knowingly dishonest. However, she lies because she is caught in an impossible situation — between her mother’s nagging and Ruben’s attention. In a sense, she represents the passage from the innocence of childhood to the scheming nature of adult life. In other words, she tries to be honest, but is forced, by an adult, to lie.

Renee’s Mother

Renee’s mother is experiencing the shell shock that typically occurs when a teenage daughter starts getting calls for dates.

Dr. Stercoff

One could do worse than to have Dr. Stercoff for a professor — as long as one studies. However, Ruben is behind on his reading, and Dr. Stercoff has little patience for students who don’t apply themselves. He also has little tolerance for students who sleep with his wife.

Mrs. Stercoff

She has a habit of casually seducing men within the university’s community. This comes as an assault to her husband’s stature. When she seduces Ruben, it puts a giant roadblock in front of his academic career.

Frank

Ruben’s roommate is crude, brash, and intelligent. He does not understand his friend, Ruben, at all. Ironically, he becomes most insensitive when he makes an effort to be sensitive.

Annabel

Annabel is a twelve-year-old child. She is innocent and wise. She imitates the speech of an adult. Like Ruben, she has no parents. Yet, because she is honest with herself, and is able to share herself with others in a meaningful way (as children are more apt to do), she copes much, much better than Ruben does.

In short, she is a puzzle. Her words are bizarre, but her emotions are childlike and authentic; she is therefore more capable of dealing with life.

Margie

Margie is the flip side of Annabel, but she serves a similar function. She is experienced, and wise. Because she is elderly, her pretentious years are behind her. Like Annabel, she is also more authentic than the other characters. She urges Ruben to seize back his life, and, because of her wisdom and authenticity, he responds to her.

Marlene

Marlene is Ruben’s partner in reminiscence. She interprets, and helps Ruben interpret, what he sees in his story. Marlene is levelheaded. She tries to use her logic as a tool for coping with the world. This makes sense, but it doesn’t work because the other characters in the play, including Adult Ruben, operate on an emotional level. Thus, Marlene’s attempts to give form to an impossible puzzle are misunderstood. She succumbs to emotion and leaves — although it is not clear whether her departure is permanent or temporary.

Adult Ruben

Annabel’s wedding makes Adult Ruben aware that he has let logic take over his life. Years have gone by and he still has not written the short story he promised Annabel. He has not shared his own life with his wife. Years earlier, the innocence of childhood helped him out of a pinch. Since that time, he has become overwhelmed by adulthood. Now, he doesn’t even recognize his own ability to make choices in his life. His story is not only an apology to Annabel, but also a vehicle for sharing his life with Marlene. Ultimately, he realizes that he has more freedom than he thought.

J. D. Salinger

An enigmatic recluse who pokes his head into the play for two seconds.

(Note:

Using hand props and lighting, various areas of the stage need to be readily transformed into the following sets:

a kitchen, a bedroom, a living room, a hospital pay phone, a professor’s office, the back of a van, a clubhouse, the hall outside a classroom, and a college professor’s office.)