About the Play:

Hopscotch has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female/Male scene-study showcases.

Hopscotch and The 75th contains a pair of one-act dramas by Israel Horovitz. Widely produced by leading regional and college theatres, Hopscotch is an imaginative and biting play, which deals with an encounter between a man and a woman who, at first, appear to be strangers – until the bitter truth of their shared past is revealed. The 75th is a delightfully amusing and touching play, which recounts the reunion of two high school classmates seventy-five years after graduation. The plays may be presented separately or paired as a double bill to create a full evening of entertainment.

Hopscotch is about a young man and a young woman who meet, apparently by chance, in a park playground. Their conversation, at first, is casual and impersonal – like strangers meeting for the first time. But gradually subtle hints emerge, suggesting that the two have indeed known each other before and, perhaps, better than either cares to remember. In the end the shattering truth of their past relationship is revealed – they are former lovers, now enemies, and both bearing the scars and bitterness of a shared loss that has done irrevocable damage to them both. (Premiered in 1974 at the American Cultural Center in Paris; Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

What people say about Hopscotch:

"…one of America's more imaginative and verbally innovative playwrights." — Denver Post

"…revealed Horovitz's skill in characterization and his true ear for dialog." — Milwaukee Sentinel

The 75th is set in a private dining room in a restaurant for the occasion of the seventy-fifth reunion of a high-school class of which only two members remain. Now in their nineties, the two, Arthur "Cookie" Silverstein and Amy Chamberlain, mistake each other for several other classmates and can't quite remember their real identities. Amy is a retired English teacher and former high school cheerleader, who is fiercely protective of her memories. "Cookie", fumbling through recollections, doesn’t really remember the twice-widowed Amy. As they put the pieces of the puzzle together, their memories become clearer and they recall their old friendships. The past begins to clarify and emerge through touching, funny and revealing banter. The play shows us how the decisions and actions we make so casually in our youth follow us for the rest of our lives. And how significant those decisions and actions truly are. (Premiered in 1974 at the American Cultural Center in Paris; Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

What people say about The 75th:

"The 75th is a wonderfully tender salute to old age." — Milwaukee Sentinel

"…rich, provocative language." — Denver Post

About the Playwright:

Israel Horovitz (1939-2020) was an American playwright, director, and actor who first came to prominence in the counterculture melting pot of Greenwich Village in the winter of 1967-68, with four critically acclaimed plays produced off Broadway. Since then, nearly 70 Horovitz plays have been performed throughout the USA, and dozens have been translated and performed in as many as 25 languages, worldwide. He won numerous awards, including the OBIE (twice), the Emmy, Priz du Plaisir de theatre (for Line In Paris), Prix du Jury (Cannes Film Festival), the New York Drama Desk Award, and Award in Literature of The American Academy of Arts and Letters, The Eliot Norton Prize, and many others.