The Grass is Greener

a play by Steven Michelson

Copyright© 2000 by Steven Michelson. All rights reserved.

Every year since college graduation, best friends MARCELLA, SARA, and BECKY spend a "girls-only" weekend at their favorite lakeside house. This year they're bringing their beaus, which include two husbands and a certain "Mr. Right" that neither of the other two have met. Or have they? While all seems great on the surface, hidden tensions, agendas, and secrets come out during the course of their two day getaway. The Grass is Greener is a modern drama about envy, choices, and consequences.

It is performed on a unit set, and requires 3 women and 3 men, all in their 30s.

MARCELLA – A woman in her mid 30s who is in a disintegrating marriage. She is a stay at home mom, and is financially well taken care of by her husband, Daniel. She is staying married, in part because of her son, and in part because of a secret which she does not want to admit.

DANIEL – A man in his mid 30s. He is a dentist, and is financially very comfortable. Even though he knows there is a lack of love in his marriage to Marcella, he wants to stay married for the sake of their son, and because he does not want to admit he is in a failed relationship.

BECKY – A woman in her mid 30s who is happily married to Jason, albeit not as financially secure as her friend Marcella. To make her life and her marriage more complete, she desperately wants a child but is considered a high risk pregnancy. To meet her maternal need, she is anxious to adopt.

JASON – A man in his mid 30s who is happily married to Becky, though he is somewhat insecure about his ability to care for his wife financially. Like his wife, he too would like a child, but is reluctant to adopt.

SARA – A single woman in her mid 30s who has gone through a string of failed relationships and is desperate to be married. She is a successful business person, but would give that up gladly for the right man. She is blind to the fact that her boyfriend, Eric, is lying, scheming, and patronizing.

ERIC – A single man in his mid 30s who, on the surface, tries to be "Mr. Nice Guy" but is quite obviously anything but. He is patronizing, and his ultimate goal is to swindle people out of money. He is using Sara to try to swindle money out of her and her friends.

The present, in Jason and Marcella’s lakeside vacation home.