About
the Play:
Metropolitan Operas is a collection of very short plays by
Joe Pintauro. These 27 vignettes, unified by the theme of
hearts on the mend, are expressions of the human condition. Each one, though brief, is complete on its own and unique from the others.
Part I opens with Seymour In The Very Heart Of Winter.
It's Christmas Eve; Viv, a disinterested fading actress, is
reminiscing about her ex-husband and her life before, to Bob, the
young working-class boyfriend who currently loves her. With a fancy
restaurant as her stage, Viv rants about her past, as Bob must find a
way to pull her back to reality if he is to save their love. (Cast: 1
female, 2 male)
Swans Flying: Ben, a patient in a hospital, hears the sound
of swans flying, though his nurse hears nothing. When Ben drifts off
to sleep, he is visited by Eddie, who holds his hand and waits for
any words of hope. (Cast: 1 female, 2 male)
Rosen's Son: Mr. Rosen unexpectedly shows up at a dinner
party at his dead son's lover's home to comfort him as well as
himself. Finding him with a new lover Harrison trying to move on
after his son's death, Mr. Rosen is enraged, until the tears of his
son's lover compensate for his own loss. (Cast: 3 male)
Benjamin Falling: From his hospital bed, Benjamin envisions
his own death – he jumps from a plane into a bright blue ocean. But
his fantasies are eroded when the word of his lover berates him back
into a reality where he can cling to life. (Cast:1 male)
Two Eclairs: Three can live as cheaply as one until Maude
can't take her little sister, Beth, living with her and her husband,
Mark. When Mark balks, however, light shines on a devastated Maude.
She moves out and Beth takes over her role – as she'd been doing
for some time. (Cast: 2 female, 1 male)
Birds In Church: Two priests attempt to catch a pair of
exotic birds flying in the sanctuary. Is it a visitation from God, or
just someone dumping unwanted birds? While debating whether these
creatures are sent from God or even represent him, they find the note
that asks that someone find these pets a good home. (Cast: 2 male)
Rex: The humorous story of Eric and Jenn who are a married
couple and happen to be vegetarians. Jenn runs over a pheasant with
her car and cannot clear her conscience of the accident. Naming the
dead bird Rex, she feels that to relieve her guilt she must cook it
and serve it for dinner to her husband Eric, hoping this gesture will
return Rex to the natural order of nature. Eric, a very reluctant
meat-eater, cries foul. In the end the couple ends up burying the
bird in the oatmeal coffin. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)
Dirty Talk: In a rural bar an alluring young woman causes a
stir with the locals. When the bar closes, she stays behind with the
redneck bartender who sees in her something strangely familiar. She
does her best to get him aroused, then reveals she is his son,
changed, but back for revenge on a neglectful father. (Cast: 1
female, 2 male)
Charlie's Farewell: A priest leads a congregation –
perhaps only of one – in appreciating life after one of the
congregants is taken from their midst. (Cast: 2 male)
Men Without Wives: Pop visits his son, Boomer, to attempt
to console him on the recent death of his wife. The two are very
different and resentments flare, even getting the better of them. The
common bond between them, the deaths of each of their wives, brings
them closer together, if only temporarily. (Cast: 2 male)
Parakeet Eulogy: When we fail to find God in our everyday
lives, can we declare ourselves God over smaller creatures if we care
for them always? (Cast: 1 male)
Easter Night: When Kristen's mother dies, she comes home to
her father and his friends. Their differing ways of mourning affects
them all, as Kristen unleashes her anger. Boomer, her father, defends
himself, through his own anger and grief, and only after they are all
spent, does Kristen find the magic of her mother return to her.
(Cast: 2 female, 2 male)
Fiat: Ken is a hairdresser who wants to commit suicide in
his salon. When a flamboyant Virgin Mary enters the salon and
disrupts his plans, he puts it off – until he realizes she is there
to escort him to the other side he seeks. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)
Part II opens with Lightning: A woman sits alone,
outside, during a violent rainstorm. When it passes, her young
daughter retrieves her, praising the Lord her mother is alright. The
woman had again challenged God, and he spared her. (Cast: 1 female, 1
girl)
Bird Of Ill Omen: Doreen, a prostitute, is visited by a
mysterious former customer who can't speak, but has something
important to tell her. Upon his revelation, that he is terminally
ill, Doreen tries to hide her emotions with her anger. (Cast: 1
female, 1 male)
Rules Of Love: A woman goes to confession seemingly to be
absolved for the sin of having a sexual relationship with a priest.
Her priest hears the awkward confession, and to his dismay, she gives
him the ultimatum of her love or God's. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)
Lenten Pudding: For the first time, Ency has neglected to
bake the annual Lenten puddings for her family. Her niece, Megan,
attempts to pry the recipe from her stubborn aunt, and when talk of
the family's history surfaces, the recipe Megan held so dear might
not be that important after all. (Cast: 2 female)
Ten-Dollar Drinks: Star, a recent Oscar winning actress,
has reluctantly agreed to meet her still-struggling actress pal Bete
for a cocktail. Star knows her old friend is jealous of her success,
and through the torturous reunion that is anything from congenial,
makes her confess it. (Cast: 2 female)
Frozen Dog: Vinny and Kevin, two Catholic priests, have
just had a spat. Vinny, has just found out that Kevin had asked to be
stationed with him for the last ten years and feels his goals have
been compromised. But love between friends is strong and may have
leanings they both now discover. (Cast: 2 male)
Soft Dude: Doll is a prostitute who has a problem with her
boyfriend, Dude, who was also one of her 'customers'; he can't get it
up and she needs to work hard for the money. Afraid he'll lose her,
Dude makes chicken for dinner in an awkward attempt to get close with
her – for all he really wants is to hold her hand. (Cast: 1 female,
1 male)
Watchman Of The Night: Mike returns home in a bad state;
he's been drinking after he and his girlfriend had a fight. She's
left many messages on his answering machine and when the phone rings
he refuses to answer it, until he hears the message of a male caller,
a wrong number, that may change the way he thinks about love. (Cast:
1 female, 2 male)
Uncle Chick: Brian, a recently out gay young man, pays a surprise visit to his distraught
Uncle Chick, who is packing up the belongings of his deceased lover.
Brian reveals to his uncle that he's gay, just like him, and Chick
warns him against living a gay life. But through the bitterness he
hears, Brian ultimately seeks to console Uncle Chick with a warm
embrace. (Cast: 2 male)
His Dish: James and Edna are newlyweds who visit William,
James' brother, at his country home. After a king's breakfast made by
the adoring Edna, James leaves the table for a moment. Then William
tells her she married a man she didn't know. When James returns, the
evidence surfaces and Edna escapes. (Cast: 1 female, 2 male)
Butterball: The table is set for a feast, only the meal
served is human and the family members are turkeys, or mostly so.
This family of humans has turned into turkeys – by various
political factors and maybe a few genetic mishaps, as the traditional
Thanksgiving dinner takes a twisted turn. (Cast: 2 female, 3 male)
House Made Of Air: Matilda Neruda, wife of the famous poet,
tells of the last few days of the life of Pablo Neruda. A haunting
memoir to the world. (Cast: 1 female)
Fur Hat: Janet is to give a lecture at a University. As she
goes over her notes in the cafeteria, her ex-husband, Don, a
professor, unintentionally sits down at the same table. Their hatred
and resentment for each other surfaces in their conversation and
comes to a head when she almost leaves her fur hat at the table, and
he at first refuses to give it back. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)
Bus Stop Diner: Martin has watched the dress rehearsal of
his play and is stunned by how bad it is. When he tries to dissuade
the producer/director from opening, he is surprised again at the
reason for its production, and is hilariously and lovingly persuaded
to help fix it before opening night. (Cast: 3 male)
The 27
short plays that comprise the entirety of the Metropolitan Operas
were commissioned in 1985 by The Circle Repertory Company in New York
City and produced in three-evening cycles, under the collective title
Rapid Fire. In 1995, Dolphinback of Chicago presented the entire
27-play collection in marathon, day-long productions under the
collective title American Divine. That production was nominated for
six Jeffersons, which are Chicago's closest equivalent to the Tony Awards, appeared in four major "Year End Best"
Lists, and was called "Best Play of 1995". Since then Metropolitan Operas
has been produced in various languages worldwide,
and was produced at the Commedia dell'Arte in Venice under Carla
Poli.
What people say:
"So sublime is this
production, I left the theatre in an altered state. In play after
play of this beautiful, hopeful evening, we see the alienated
enlightened and the estranged reunited." — New City
(Chicago)
"Pintauro reveals a talent for
dramatizing grand passions with almost operatic vigor. He unleashes a
volcanic uproar of affection, obscenities and physical abuse worthy
of Raging Bull." — New York Times
"[The pieces focus on the] saints and sinners and the dreamers and destroyers of Pintauro's sacred and profane world. There are bursts of unforgettable poetry. Pintauro's greatest strength is his poetic impulse – a lush blend of lyricism and mean streets rage. All of Pintauro's characters are torn between sinning and penitence." — Chicago Sun-Times
About the Playwright:
Joe
Pintauro (1930-2018) was an award-winning American author, poet
and prolific playwright in late 20th century New York. A former
priest, he graduated from Fordham University in New York City with an
M.A. in American Literature before studying Theology for four years
at Niagara University. He is the acclaimed author of two novels,
several volumes of poetry, and a plethora of plays. He is best known
for works such as Raft of the Medusa, Cacciatore, and
Men's Lives.