Mack Edwards

"A complex and cathartic tale of letting go of the past and living in the now".... Stuart Meltzer, Artistic Director Zoetic Stage in Miami.

"Sam's story was compelling. I liked the fact the characters were racially diverse without having racial issues be a major theme. I also enjoyed the conceit of the playwright and how much he is or is not the same person as Sam"... Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director Primary Stages New York City.

   Sam Donovan, once a successful business executive, is a victim of age discrimination. He's emerging from a suicide attempt. After three months of living on the streets, currently resides at a homeless shelter.  

   Although hungry to rebuild his life, his efforts are mired in a social services system that's understaffed, overworked and poorly funded. So, he embarks on a self-styled journey of healing, redemption and renewal.

   Help initially comes from Madison Emmet's "Expressively Writing" classes. Finding her biweekly visits not enough, he enlists the support of Bailey, a straight-talking, street-smart Black man who, although new to Sam's life, seems to have been part of it forever.

      The enigmatic Bailey fills in the blanks and relentlessly challenges everything Sam believes about himself and his world.

      The play focuses on a writing assignment of Madison's that asks for a "happy childhood memory". Rather than conjuring up thoughts of family gatherings and teenage hijinks, Sam comes up with "darkness". The more he tries to trade it for something more conventional, the more it digs in its heels.

      Succumbing to it, Sam and Bailey find themselves back to Sam's childhood and the roof top of his Lower East Side tenement house where four decades earlier his trip to the tub slowly filling with his blood began.

      Or so we think.