Play 59: My Favorite Type of Dinner

CHARACTERS
MARY, early 50s
BILL, early 50s
ANNA, early 30s
ELI, early 30s
ILLENE, early 20s
VINCENT, 17

(They are sitting around a table eating dinner.)

BILL
Really?

MARY
Yeah, it’s stereotypical, I know, but I must say it is my favorite play of his.

ANNA
While it is not my favorite I must admit it is a truly splendid work of art.

ILLENE
I wholeheartedly concur.

ELI
I as well. My favorite part is probably Polonius’ speech.

ANNA
It is wonderful. The way he says “brevity is the soul of wit.”

BILL
Yeah, how he so concisely weaves such an intricate web of ideas into so simple and short a phrase is so magnificent and really illustrates the exact point he is trying to make.

MARY
And it’s so true, the more short of a way in which you say something truly does bring out the essence of it and makes it far better than if you package it with so many superfluous words as people today so often do.

ILLENE
I couldn’t have said it better myzself.

ELI
The same for me.

(beat.)

BILL
Don’t you agree Vincent?

(Vincent screams at the top of his lungs, everyone jerks back in surprise, Mary spills her drink and Eli drops his fork which falls with a loud clang.)

(Silence, everyone is looking in shock at Vincent.)

VINCENT
Umm, I mean (beat) yeah, sure.

(Everyone remains frozen staring at him.)

(He takes a sip from his glass.)

(Blackout.)