ADAM’S GIFTS by Peter Filichia
In a seasonal riff on Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol,’ Adam’s Gifts is a story of redemption and the heart-melting surprise of feeling needed. As our modern economy requires tightening our belts, so it is with modern ghosts — only one can be assigned per needy subject due to the vast numbers of people who need their ‘help.’ Our ghost, Glynis, sure has her work cut out for her with the completely illiterate William Pront, who makes Ebenezer Scrooge look like Mother Teresa. We see William as a boy (the son of an abusive father who sold him to the mob); then a visit to the only girl he ever loved, who tried to instill in William a love for the Arts. A memory-scene with his harsh father sobers him, as does one to his under-appreciated assistant, Jason’s ex-wife and son, Adam, who has a rare and fatal cancer which continues to shatter William, as he sees some of himself in the bed-ridden child. As a bond develops, Adam discovers William’s inability to read and write and sets about teaching him those skills. Glynis informs William of a new cancer treatment program. William writes a letter with his new-found and formerly unappreciated skills, that gets Adam admitted to that program. Glynis also shows William what would have happened had he not changed: Jason would have written a book about how miserable a man he was, and it would become so well-known that “Pront” would replace “Scrooge” as an idiom for stinginess. At the end of the play, we’re not sure if Adam will beat the illness, but we are certain that William has completely turned himself around — thanks to the arts that have taught him to appreciate the finer things in life, and one special boy.
PLAY DETAILS:
- 3m, 4w, 2boys can be played by 2m, 2w, 1boy
- WILLIAM PRONT, a 60-plus slumlord
- JASON ROMANO, his harried middle-aged employee (who also plays SAM FALCON, a mobster)
- GLYNIS, a stranger from a strange land. (also plays CAROL)
- LISA PINEWSKI, Jason’s middle-aged ex-wife (who also plays MARY CHALMERS, an intellectual young miss)
- ADAM ROMANO, their pre-teen son (who also plays YOUNG WILLIAM at the age of 12)
- Setting and costumes: NYC present day, past and future
- About 90 minutes
- ORDER #3372
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PERUSAL MATERIALS
REHEARSAL-PRODUCTION MATERIALS:
- Production Script PDF Rental — ORDER #3372a : $30.00
- 1st Performance Amateur/Educational Royalty (or Only Performance Royalty) — ORDER #3372d : $90.00
- 2nd Performance Amateur/EducationalRoyalty (each additional performance) — ORDER #3372e : $80.00
- Professional Royalties quoted on APPLICATION
BILLING CREDITS:
ADAM’S GIFTS
by Peter Filichia
NOTE: The names of the Playwright(s), Composer, Lyricist, and Bookwriter shall be equal in size, type, coloring, boldness, and prominence. No billing shall appear in type larger or more prominent than the billing to the Authors except for the title of the play. (In a press release all type, will of course, be the same size.)
ALSO:
THIS NOTICE MUST APPEAR IN ALL PROGRAMS, ON ALL POSTERS AND PUBLICITY MATERIALS AND INTERNET ADVERTISING/WEBPAGES FOR THE PLAY:
“Adam’s Gifts is presented through special arrangement with Premiére Theatrical Licensing on behalf of Leicester Bay Theatricals. All authorized materials are also supplied by LBT, www.leicesterbaytheatricals.com”
PRODUCTIONS:
- Sullivan County Dramatic Workshop — South Fallsburg, NY — November 2022
- Two Planks Theatre Company — Monroe, CT — April 2017
- Clinton Area Showboat Theater, Clinton, Iowa
- Spotlight, Vermont
- Premiere performance at St. Johns (Greenwich Village) starring William Parry, Maureen Silliman, and Phillip Hoffman, Julia Peterson and Hayden Wall, December 19, 2013
- Staged Reading: American Theatre Group–Hamilton Stage, Rahway, New Jersey — 2012