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The place is a communal residence in a New England city, where four mentally handicapped men live under the supervision of an earnest, but increasingly “burned out” young social worker named Jack. Norman, who works in a doughnut shop and is unable to resist the lure of the sweet pastries, takes great pride in the huge bundle of keys that dangles from his waist; Lucien P. Smith has the mind of a five-year-old but imagines that he is able to read and comprehend the weighty books he lugs about; Arnold, the ringleader of the group, is a hyperactive, compulsive chatterer, who suffers from deep-seated insecurities and a persecution complex; while Barry, a brilliant schizophrenic who is devastated by the unfeeling rejection of his brutal father, fantasizes that he is a golf pro. Mingled with scenes from the daily lives of these four, where “little things” sometimes become momentous (and often very funny), are moments of great poignancy when, with touching effectiveness, we are reminded that the handicapped, like the rest of us, want only to love and laugh and find some meaning and purpose in the brief time that they, like their more fortunate brothers, are allotted on this earth.
(In Order of Appearance)
Arnold Wiggins – Scott Kopischke
Lucien P. Smith – Mario Alberts
Jack Palmer – Mark Neufang
Norman Bulansky – Lawrence K. Lukasavage
Barry Klemper – Kurtis Witzlsteiner
Mr. Hedges, Mr. Corbin, Senator Clarke – Thomas Van Gilder
Mrs. Fremus, Mrs. Warren, Clara – Allison Roth
Sheila – Patti Anne Hachmeister
Mr. Klemper – Paul Pfannenstiel
* * *
Director – Mark Salentine
Set Designer – J. Michael Desper
Technical Director/Master Carpenter – Philip C. Warren
Lighting Designer – Marty Wallner
Stage Manager – Margaret Franz & Jan Szczepanski
Co-Costume Designer – Pat Boeck
Co-Costume Designer – Sue Fromm
Wig Master – Anthony Mackie
Sound Designers – Jan Pritzl & Mark Salentine
Properties Mistresses – Brenda Gravelle & Pat Westen
Choreographer – Melissa Block-Meier
By Tom Griffin