About the Play:

Willie & Esther is a full-length comedy by James Graham Bronson. Willie and Esther are a longtime couple with long-term troubles. When it seems their luck is about to run out they hatch a plan to overcome their troubles by robbing a bank. Hilarious, touching, and real as a bad day, this play's truth is that sometimes the only way to overcome your troubles is to laugh at them with someone you love.

Willie & Esther is a comedic and heartfelt story about an African American couple who are struggling to make ends meet and who definitely prove that opposites attract. Willie, a frustrated scam artist, works in a produce warehouse, thinking always of how to achieve the big break, the main chance. Esther endures the dreamless drudgery of a job in a beauty parlour, long-suffering both the job and Willie's endless schemes. It's them against the world. The law-abiding couple fantasize about robbing a branch of the Bank of America on a sunny afternoon in Los Angeles, because "Don't nothing beat a failure but a try." This hilarious and emotional daydream triggers unexpected examination into the nature of their own commitment.

Willie & Esther premiered in 1987 at the Inner City Cultural Center in Los Angeles and won first place at the Center's first short-play competition, beating out more than 100 other plays from around the US. Subsequently expanded to two acts, the play went on to a six-month run at the Theater of Arts in Los Angeles. Productions of the play were mounted in numerous cities, including Denver, Washington, Chicago, Memphis, New York for an off-Broadway run at the 47th Street Theatre, and Berkley for a month long run at the Black Repertory Group.

Cast: 1 female, 1 male

What people say:

"...shares a lot of truths about the lives of people who are struggling and trying to live an honest life – but never seem to catch a break." — New York Amsterdam News

"Two actors, two props. Theater, comedy in this case, can't get more basic than this. Willie & Esther ... is riotous, seamless, even daring because it pulls out all the emotional stops and triumphs on its own terms." — Los Angeles Times

"Willie and Esther represent African American types who are almost never seen on the stage: regular working people who just want to get by ... they're robust in their disappointment and never victims." — The Washington Post

About the Playwright:

James Graham Bronson is an award-winning African-American playwright and founder of the Los Angeles Black Playwrights. His stage plays have been seen across the US.