The play was about a spring/winter love affair between an older woman and a much younger man. It was set in Ireland. The premise was forbidden love and the struggle for the lovers to overcome the obstacle of religious prejudice and age differences in Irish catholic southern Ireland. The character of Penelope Lange was English and protestant, while the character of Patrick O’Shaughnessy was Irish catholic. In the end their love prevails. The playwright was trying to make the statement that love conquers all. It was loaded with great songs and a real touchy feely dialogue. The play was a real tear jerker and well written.
The fact that mother and son would be playing the parts of lovers hadn’t fully sunk in yet as the two celebrated their good fortune. Then almost simultaneously the two friends realized their predicament. Mary’s hand went up to her mouth as she gasped in shock at the revelation that she would be required to play out the part of lover to her own son.
Josh picked up on the problem and his eyes grew wide. He offered, “If this is a problem mom, I can turn down the part and take a different role.”
Mary waved her son’s offer off and replied, “If anyone is going to give up their lead role in this it will be me son. If you think it would be too awkward to play the part of my lover, I will step aside and let them give the role to someone else. I don’t want you to miss out on this opportunity.”
“Mom, we can do this.” Josh replied. “I would never forgive myself if because of me, you lost this chance to shine, like I know you will. Let’s just do it. We got this mom. I know it will be a little awkward at first but it’s just acting. The show must go on and all that, you know?”
“Right, it is just acting after all. We can and we will do this.” Mary said trying to sound more convinced than she really was. In the back of her mind she harbored doubts about playing the part of lover to her exceedingly handsome son. She was also feeling butterflies in her stomach over the prospect.
Mary was from old money but had been disinherited when she became pregnant with Josh. Her entire family had turned their backs on her when she told them that she would be having a baby out of wedlock. Josh’s father was as handsome as Josh if not more so. He split town when Mary told him of her predicament. She had moved away from all she ever knew. She settled in a small mid-western town and took a job as a cashier at a local grocery store where she still worked to this day. She had raised Josh entirely on her own and he was her whole world.
Mary had never accepted promotion at her job because her time with her son was precious. She went to work at eight every morning and was off by three thirty every afternoon from Monday thru Friday. She made it a point to spend time with Josh everyday and she saw to his every need. Josh excelled in school and sports but his real passion was theater and singing. Mary encouraged him to pursue his dreams. She also taught him that he could do anything he wanted in life if he tried hard enough and never gave up.
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