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Brothers-in-Law
A suspenseful comedy.
Fred and Richard married into the same family. In the past 12 years they have been together in the same room hundreds of times. They never had a conversation until today.
On the afternoon of their wives’ mother’s funeral, with the reception taking place upstairs, they meet each other sneaking into their late father-in-law’s private room in the basement, which no one has ever seen.
Fred, a truck driver in his 50’s (older than the older sister), and Richard, a bon vivant in his 30’s (younger than the younger sister), each has his own reason for coming to this room. Neither wanted company, but nobody’s leaving.
A suspenseful comedy.
The play: 90 minutes, no intermission
The setting: a basement room in a house
The cast: two men, one in his 30’s and one in his 50’s
Reviews
“To start, Jeff Baron’s script is simply outstanding. As polished and gripping as a play that has been through several incarnations, it’s hard to believe that this is Brothers-in-Law’s world premiere.
Running 90 minutes with no intermission, the show seems much shorter, as one’s attention is never lost throughout its duration. The characters are thoroughly developed and the plot so intriguing and entertaining that the audience becomes engrossed and invested in a piece that boasts only two actors and one set.
The plot centers on Fred and Richard, two brothers-in-law who are not particularly fond of each other because of preconceptions and assumptions they have made about each other over the years. During their mother-in-law’s funeral the two find themselves in the basement of her house, which served as their father-in-law’s place of retreat. As the two begin to question each other’s motives and lifestyle, they begin to discover the hidden depths each possesses. It’s powerful, touching and very, very funny.”
Amy Lewis, Stage Magazine
“Admit it. There’s that in-law you dread. That one who’s a virtual stranger you find yourself having to spend time with as though he were actually family.
This is one of the inevitabilities of life that Jeff Baron’s new play, “Brothers-in-Law,” explores. The play is about two men who find each other, for very different reasons, in their late father-in-law’s private room. Richard is a frivolous dandy in his late 30s who is startled to find his much older brother-in-law Fred in the room reserved for their late father-in law’s exclusive use.
Fred, we soon find out, is a rough-around-the-edges truck driver who can’t much stand Richard’s flamboyance.
After the initial shock of running into each other subsides, the pair tries to ferret out the other’s motives for breaking into the room. Their reasons catapult their relationship and understanding of each other to new levels.
Family secrets and nagging personal suspicions creep up through the dialogue and make for the perfect mixture of tension and gratification. The play does an extraordinary job of character development and makes some powerful points about gossip and truth. Nevertheless, there is a laugh a minute.”
Carrie Compton