The day before, I looked up information about the play and learned it was a new work, so I decided to keep an open mind. While researching, I found out that there would be no intermissions. This wasn’t a problem, but it was definitely a change from what I was used to seeing in the couple of Broadway plays I had attended before. After work, I headed to the ferry and, although I was almost late, I managed to catch the 1:30 ferry.
When we finally arrived at the Roundabout, I didn’t know what to expect from the play. The set was simple yet extremely detailed, and although it was static, the use of lighting created a sense of movement. The play centered around a man named Paul, who comes to the same diner every day, and a woman named Katie, who runs the diner. Paul slowly reveals to Katie that he is depressed and that his world has become mundane. He tries to use Katie as a source of “entertainment” by learning why she moved to this place and how her life became so “boring.”
He discovers that Katie ran away from her past, moving from the big city to this small town in an attempt to escape. The person she tried to escape was a guy named Gil, a friend with whom she had developed romantic tension. When she decided to kiss him, thinking it was the right thing to do, she was met with a reaction she hadn’t hoped for. Instead of facing the consequences, she ran away.
On the flip side of the story, Paul tries to get Katie to open up by divulging details about his own life and how he ended up in the diner. He begins by telling her that he is depressed and tired of how predictable the world has become. To create a surprise, he offers her a bottle of poison, stating that he wishes to be “poisoned” by her as a final surprise. At first, Katie protests and tries to come up with different solutions, which temporarily keeps the problem at bay.
As the play unfolds, Paul continues to share more about his life, revealing the loss of his brother and mother. This clearly serves to illustrate why Paul is so jaded toward life, highlighting the significant grief he has endured.
The climax of the story occurs when Paul becomes upset with Katie for prolonging his death, feeling that she has no idea what he has been through. In an effort to calm him down, Katie reveals that she had a hysterectomy, and on the day of the procedure, she felt a part of herself die. She shares that the only two people who know about this are Paul and Gil. This revelation allows Paul to better understand Katie’s situation, and the scene concludes with a silent hug, accompanied by an unspoken promise from Katie to end Paul’s life the next day.
When the next day arrives, Katie receives a call from Gil, who is in the area and asks if she’s free to meet. Hesitant, Katie realizes that the right thing to do is to reconnect with him and attempt to restart her old life. Paul fully supports her decision and decides to take over the diner in her absence. The play ends on an ambiguous note, with Paul staring at his untouched coffee, which may or may not be poisoned.
The play, though slow at times, builds beautifully toward the finale, with the tension between Paul and Katie escalating until it culminates in a single scene. Everything feels genuine; these are two people with very different outlooks on life trying to find common ground. Paul, much more jaded, views every experience as the same and believes that the only surprise he is missing is death. In contrast, Katie is comfortable with the mundaneness of her life, fearful of opening herself up to new possibilities and confronting her past.
Through their interactions, both characters evolve. Katie seizes the opportunity to revisit her past and attempt to right the wrongs she once made, while Paul is surprised to learn that Gil, rather than abandoning her, had spent two years trying to find her. This revelation surprises Paul so much that he hesitates to drink the poisoned coffee at the end, beginning to realize that maybe there is more to life than he initially thought.
