Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Good People
    Good People
    Good People
    Ebook265 pages1 hour

    Good People

    By David Lindsay-Abaire

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    "A lyrical and understanding chronicler of people who somehow become displaced within their own lives. . . . Mr. Lindsay-Abaire has shown a special affinity for female characters suddenly forced to re-evaluate the roles by which they define themselves."—The New York Times

    With his latest play Good People, David Lindsay-Abaire returns to Manhattan Theatre Club where four of his previous works were produced, including his 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning Rabbit Hole. The play premiered there in winter 2011 in a production directed by Daniel Sullivan (who also directed Rabbit Hole), and featuring Frances McDormand in the role of protagonist Margie Walsh. Good People is set in South Boston, the blue-collar neighborhood where Lindsay-Abaire himself grew up: Margie Walsh, let go from yet another job and facing eviction, decides to appeal to an old flame who has made good and left his Southie past behind. Lindsay-Abaire offers us both his "quiet three-dimensional depth" (Los Angeles Times) and his carefully observed humor in this exploration of life in America when you're on your last dollar.

    David Lindsay-Abaire is the author of Fuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, A Devil Inside, Wonder of the World, and Rabbit Hole, in addition to the book for the musicals High Fidelity and Shrek. His plays have been produced throughout the United States and around the world.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTheatre Communications Group
    Release dateJun 21, 2011
    ISBN9781559366595
    Good People

    Read more from David Lindsay Abaire

    Related to Good People

    Related ebooks

    Performing Arts For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Greater Clements

      Apr 27, 2020

      Greater Clements
      88 min read

    • Article

      Pain And Love In The Backyard

      Feb 25, 2020

      In Will Arbery’s new play, five conservative Catholics in Wyoming gather late at night by a fire pit to argue, commiserate, and face the uncertain future of their faith and their country. Danya Taymor, who directed the play’s premiere at New York Cit

      8 min read

    • Article

      Qui Nguyen Finds a Home in Orange County

      Apr 2, 2019

      As a playwright, I’m a little bit ADD artistically,” says Qui Nguyen. “I get bored really quickly. I put things in there that are kind of wild, just to keep myself entertained.” Nguyen’s breakthrough play, Vietgone, illustrates exactly what he’s talk

      5 min read

    • Article

      Onstage March 19

      Feb 25, 2019

      Onstage March 19
      26 min read

    • Article

      “Where Did You Laugh?”

      Dec 14, 2019

      “Where Did You Laugh?”
      4 min read

    • Article

      My 21st-century Touchstone Play: Theatre Stars Share The Shows That Shook Them To The Core

      Feb 19, 2021

      Here at the Evening Standard, we recently tried to pull together the 21st-century’s greatest plays (read our list and see if you agree). But what about those plays that impact us more personally, that seem to speak to us directly and leave us getting

      7 min read

    • Article

      Critic's Notebook: Star Turns That Serve The Broadway Play — Elaine May, Daniel Radcliffe And Janet McTeer Show How It's Done

      Nov 26, 2018

      NEW YORK - When it comes to playwriting, Broadway has a supply problem. Although the new generation of American dramatists is blazingly talented, the great majority of these writers prefer the creative flexibility of more intimate stages. New dramas

      6 min read

    • Article

      Mfa Or The Highway?

      Dec 25, 2019

      FOR YEARS, I IDENTIFIED AS A PLAY ‑ wright who wanted an MFA. I had seen those coveted three letters in almost every playwright’s bio, often attached to an illustrious university—an Ivy, or maybe a West Coast equivalent. I spent three autumns writing

      12 min read

    • Article

      Sam Shepard’s Dynamic Women

      Aug 11, 2017

      Sam Shepard’s Dynamic Women
      4 min read

    • Article

      An ‘Inheritance’ Deferred

      Oct 25, 2019

      An ‘Inheritance’ Deferred
      8 min read

    • Article

      V (formerly Eve Ensler) On Biden, Feminism And Why She Was Wrong To Cancel Her Father

      Mar 9, 2021

      You don’t just hook up with Eve Ensler," said Glenn Close, who performed in the play that made Enlser’s name and changed the lives of women around the world, The Vagina Monologues. "You become part of her crusade". Talking to Ensler, who is now known

      6 min read

    • Article

      Review: Martyna Majok's Pulitzer-winning Drama 'Cost Of Living' Has Found An Ideal Home

      Nov 13, 2018

      LOS ANGELES - Two of the best productions this fall have happened at intimate theaters that are keeping up with the exciting developments in American playwriting. Earlier this season, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' "Gloria" was presented by Echo Theater Com

      3 min read

    • Article

      Polly Stenham

      Jun 4, 2016

      Polly Stenham
      1 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Good People

    4/5

    19 ratings3 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      Short stories are not my favorite literary flavor to begin with and I should have known better than to even try one. I got permanently stuck in the chapter without any punctuation marks. Could not finish this book.
    • 5/5
      If you found over a hundred grand in cash, would you keep it? What if it was stollen? And the dead gu's house where you found it is a theif? What would you do? "Good People" addressesx this conflict through the protagonists Tom and Anna, a middle class married couple struggling with debt, in this mind gripping novel.
    • 5/5
      A gripping play about fortune, family, and luck in determining our circumstances. I highly recommend it.

    Book preview

    Good People - David Lindsay-Abaire

    Act One

    002

    Scene 1

    South Boston, Massachusetts. The alley behind the Dollar Store. There’s a dumpster back there, a rusty chair, and a door labeled DOLLAR STORE—DELIVERIES ONLY. The back door opens and Margaret, about fifty, comes out with Stevie, her manager, late twenties. Stevie carries a folder.

    MARGARET

    Did she ever tell you the turkey story? Up at Flanagan’s?

    STEVIE

    No.

    MARGARET

    When I worked up there, and she came in? She never told you that turkey story?

    STEVIE

    I don’t think so.

    MARGARET

    She was pregnant with you. No, Jimmy actually—she was pregnant with Jimmy—because it was near Christmas, and your father was locked up in Walpole again, so she didn’t have any money for anything.

    STEVIE

    (Offers her the rusty chair) You wanna sit down?

    MARGARET

    She had nothing. Except Saint Vincent de Paul’s. Thank god for them. They used to give out toys at Christmas to the ones who couldn’t afford it.

    STEVIE

    Margaret, listen for a / second—

    MARGARET

    (But she keeps going) I don’t think they did Christmas dinners though. And your grandmother had passed by then, so there was no dinner to go to. So your mother comes into Flanagan’s, and she’s out to here. (Indicates belly) When’s Jimmy’s birthday?

    STEVIE

    January.

    MARGARET

    Right, so she’s out to here, and in this big coat. Remember that blue coat she always wore?

    STEVIE

    Yeah.

    MARGARET

    And she’s walking up and down the aisles, slipping things in the pockets—potatoes, and cans of cranberry sauce, cookies, because you guys gotta eat, right? So she comes waddling up to my register. And I’m like, Hey Suzie, how are the kids? And she doesn’t wanna talk obviously, she’s just trying to push through the line: Oh, they’re good, I was just looking for something, but you don’t have it, so I’m gonna try someplace else. And then the turkey falls out of her coat. It hits the floor right between her legs. A turkey. Boom.

    And I swear to god, she didn’t miss a beat. She looks up, real mad, and yells, Who threw that bird at me?!

    (Really laughing now) Oh, we died. Everybody there. Ya had to laugh. Who threw that bird at me?! She was a funny sonofabitch. Pardon my French.

    STEVIE

    Look, Margaret—

    MARGARET

    God, she was funny. I think about her all the time. Your mother was a good lady. It’s a lesson though. You’re lucky you don’t smoke. Too young, your mother.

    STEVIE

    Can we do this?

    MARGARET

    (Beat) Sure. (Moves to the chair) You gotta make them give you a real office, Stevie. Because these alley conferences? No way to run a business. It smells back here.

    STEVIE

    I know you don’t wanna talk about why I brought / you out here—

    MARGARET

    No, I know. I was late, I’m sorry.

    STEVIE

    It’s just, the district manager / comes in—

    MARGARET

    I know. It was my Joycey again. You know I can’t leave her alone when she gets outta sorts. And I pay Dottie Gillis a little bit to keep an eye on her, but Dot’s not the most reliable.

    STEVIE

    Right, but the district manager comes down on me about it.

    MARGARET

    No, I know, that guy’s an ass—pardon my French.

    STEVIE

    Maybe, but he’s also my boss. And he looks over those punch cards.

    MARGARET

    Okay.

    STEVIE

    No, not okay. You’re late every day. Twenty, thirty minutes. Yesterday it was almost an hour.

    MARGARET

    It’s not every day.

    STEVIE

    Pretty much it is, and that reflects badly on me. He wants to know why I can’t keep my employees in line.

    MARGARET

    You have to explain about Joyce. She’s in a program, thank god, but that’s only so many hours a week. I can’t / always—

    STEVIE

    I explained it to him, but there’s only so much / I can—

    MARGARET

    It’s not just me, Stevie. Karen calls in sick every couple days.

    STEVIE

    Yeah, well, I’m talking to Karen next.

    MARGARET

    Well, while you’ve got her out here, you should ask her why she tells everyone you’re gay.

    STEVIE

    (Beat) What?

    MARGARET

    She says you’re gay.

    STEVIE

    (More bemused than offended) I’m not gay.

    MARGARET

    I know.

    STEVIE

    So why does she say that?

    MARGARET

    Because you go to bingo.

    STEVIE

    That makes me gay?

    MARGARET

    I’m just tellin’ ya what Karen says to people. You go to bingo a lot. More than I do. More than Karen does.

    STEVIE

    I like bingo.

    MARGARET

    Obviously.

    STEVIE

    Plenty of men go to bingo.

    MARGARET

    I wouldn’t say plenty, but yeah.

    STEVIE

    Freddy Gleason goes to bingo.

    MARGARET

    Yeah.

    STEVIE

    Frank Moore.

    MARGARET

    Yeah. A few old-timers, but yeah, that’s what I’ve been telling her.

    STEVIE

    Okay, it doesn’t matter.

    MARGARET

    Are you gonna bring it up with her though?

    STEVIE

    No, I’m going to say to her exactly what I’m saying to you. The district manager came / in—

    MARGARET

    She’s late a lot more than I am.

    STEVIE

    Okay.

    MARGARET

    And she says you’re gay.

    STEVIE

    Margaret—

    MARGARET

    I know you’re not gay, and I tell her that, because you’re dating what’s her name. I don’t know if that’s supposed to be a secret, or whatever, but everybody knows that. Not Karen, obviously, but everybody knows that.

    STEVIE

    Can you listen to me, please? The district manager came / in—

    MARGARET

    Okay, I understand. I’ve been late, and I won’t be anymore. You can tell him I got the warning. (Heads back inside)

    STEVIE

    (Stops her) No, this isn’t a warning. You’ve had warnings. I’ve given you seven warnings in the last two months.

    MARGARET

    You know I can’t leave Joyce alone. You know that. She’s like a baby. And Dottie doesn’t always show up when she’s supposed to. So what am I / supposed to—?

    STEVIE

    It’s not like I have a choice in this. If I don’t let you go then I get fired.

    MARGARET

    (Beat) What do you mean, let me go?

    STEVIE

    I told you it could happen.

    MARGARET

    Now, come / on—

    STEVIE

    Every week the district manager comes in to look at those punch cards.

    MARGARET

    I won’t be late again. Tell him I promise.

    STEVIE

    I cover for you all the time, and he won’t have it anymore. He wants me to let you go.

    MARGARET

    I’ll get somebody else to look after Joyce.

    STEVIE

    That’s what you always say.

    MARGARET

    (Beat) This is about the Chinese girl, isn’t it.

    STEVIE

    No, and she’s not Chinese.

    MARGARET

    She might be a little faster at the register, but she makes more mistakes.

    STEVIE

    First of all, she doesn’t make mistakes. /

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1