About the Play:

Defiled is a full-length dramatic comedy by Lee Kalcheim. The play pits a nerdy, technophobic librarian, clutching in his hands the detonator that will obliterate the library if his beloved card catalogue filing system is carted away, against a wily police negotiator. Defiled is a humorous and thoughtful look at the price of progress.

Defiled is a two-hander (with two off-stage voices) about the dangers of modern technology. Librarian Harry Mendelsohn loves knowledge and, more especially, those old-time card catalogues, well-thumbed guideposts to knowledge, that preceded computers. Having lost his job after battling with his boss over the impending destruction of his beloved but archaic defiled index cards (which generations of librarians have annotated), he's wired the library with explosives and barricaded himself inside. Clutching the detonator in his sweaty hands, he is pitted against Police Det. Brian Dickey. He's dealt with bomb threats before. He's close to retirement. He just wants some peace, some easy time with his (unseen) wife, some time for fly-fishing. A relationship begins to form, but can Brian talk Larry down and stop the inevitable? Defiled is a fast-paced debate on society's obsession with technology.

Defiled had a staged reading in 1999 at the at the Coronet Theatre in West Hollywood, with Woody Harrelson as the librarian, and Peter Falk (who began his career as a stage actor in community theatre) as the police negotiator. It premiered in 2000 at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Jason Alexander starred as the librarian, and Peter Falk as the policeman.

Cast: 2 male, with 2 any gender off-stage

What people say:

"Kalcheim has written fine, funny parts.... His ending is a coup de theatre that's both logically satisfying and genuinely startling." — Time Magazine

"A bomb threat play ... fueled by the librarian's primary fear: that the printed word will soon go the way of the buggy whip, and computers will suck us all into their maw." — Los Angeles Times

"Entertaining, thoughtful." — Hollywood Reporter

"Harry's not your typical terrorist; he's a bookish nerd who's taken all he can take of so called progress.... Similarly, Dicky is a fully dimensional character [in this] ... lighthearted drama." — Variety

About the Playwright:

Lee Kalcheim is an American screenwriter who has written for both the theatre and television. He is an Emmy winning comedy writer (All In The Family), Cable Ace Award winner (The Paper Chase), Writers Guild Award winner (The Bridge of Adam Rush).