Perfect Arrangement: a play in two acts

By Topher Payne

It's 1950, and new colors are being added to the Red Scare. Two U.S. State Department employees, Bob and Norma, have been tasked with identifying sexual deviants within their ranks. There's just one problem: Both Bob and Norma are gay, and have married each other's partners as a carefully constructed cover. Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the American gay rights movement, madcap classic sitcom-style laughs give way to provocative drama as two "All-American" couples are forced to stare down the closet door. Topher Payne's heralded comedy has been performed all across America and around the world- and is more timely than ever before. Available for the first time in trade paperback. "[A] clever canapé of a comedy... Mr. Payne is a deft and witty writer." - The New York Times "As hiding gets harder, pitch-perfect comedy ensues: slamming doors, strange disguises, preposterous excuses [....] Eventually, the four must decide whether face-saving domestic lies are worth it, or whether ostracism beats living in fear. In our own era of surveillance and paranoia, their mid-century problems don't feel so far away. " - The New Yorker "This is truly what a play should be. Thought-provoking, but with loads of laughs, this terrific show strikes the perfect balance between harsh social criticism and comedy." - Triangle Arts & Entertainment "Usually a playwright has to choose between writing a laugh-out-loud comedy and a very serious drama. Topher Payne has written both with Perfect Arrangement." - TheatreMania "The best thing about Topher Payne's fabulous Perfect Arrangement is its pitch-perfect capture of the 1950s comic voice, and its application to the dreadfully serious drama." - DC Theatre Scene "Introduces audiences to a piece of theatre where tragedy and farce wrap around each other like strands of DNA. It's two distinct plays telling the same hilarious and heartbreaking story... Perfect Arrangement drags history out of the closet." - Memphis Flyer

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0DC5YXLBR
• ISBN13: 9798334789128
• Release Date: August 2024
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 101 Pages
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.3" x 6.0"