Good evening, and welcome to playwrights laboratory 82 a co-production of Minnesota Public Radio and the playwright's center. I'm Dale Connolly your host for another in our series of radio dramas written by Minnesota playwrights tonight's play is Lumberyard by Paul. D'andrea following the play. We invite you to call in your comments and questions for Paul Dandrea who is with us in the studio tonight also drama critic Robert Collins of City Pages magazine will have a review of lumber yard to get our discussion going the play lasts about 40 minutes. We'll give you the phone numbers as soon as it's over. We hope you'll stay tuned and now playwrights laboratory 82 presents lumberyard.All the way to a Lumberyard 41 board for one shelf. I love lumberyards. I love to see things get built. I have four grown sons and not one of them has ever built anything for me. When I lost my husband, I lost my chance to have something wonderful built for me. You better face it Sadie a woman alone is a woman who does not get things done. One mother can bring up four Sons but four Sons can't bring up one mother. I've got no one to help me. I am doomed to be in a loser. Gasoline is a dollar thirty eight a gallon and I've got to go all alone in a big station wagon to the lumber yard for one board for one Shelf. But I need that shelf. Mr. Pruitt. Oh, mr. Pruitt. This is the place that little kids gone into lumber yard again. All right kid. I'll find you in there. Mr. Pruitt, mr. Pruitt. Mr. Pruitt, I need a shelf. So by a board one measly shall so by a measly board. You sell measly Boards, of course not well, that's too bad. If you did maybe you could give me a break on the price. Just my luck. It's Pruitt the owner. I won't get a break now. I've never been able to get a bargain with that man. Just doesn't Bend probably charge me extra for the little red flag. They staple on to the end of the board by a long one. So maybe I'll buy a short one. But then why come all this way for a short board and a station wagon? I don't really need a board. I was just driving by. Oh you were just driving by your happened to come through the door. Well, since I'm here anyway, you might as well buy something even though you don't really need it. And therefore would like to get a break on The Price Right. Do you happen to have any boards on sale? Do I have any boards? This is a lumber yard. Come on out here. The lumber yard and look around. I need the kind. What kind the short kind that don't need Flags. We've got all kinds. I'll take that one. Is it on sale? No, it looks dirty. I think it's been squished by the steel bands. They put around Lumber when they ship it find a nun squished one. You never give anyone a break break for one board. You may not get a break. If I bought more then you'd get a break. What if I bought the whole place the whole Lumberyard I'd give you a break misses a grill. Oh, yes if you bought the whole place. Yes is 138 gallon. So so what do you want for your lumber yard? I'm here. Anyway, I've spent all the money for gas. I see you kid. This is a catch you can't get away from me. I see you in there. Don't among those two by fours. I'm gonna get you this time. It's going to take more than a Lumberyard to stop me. That's officer Barnes. He spends most of his day chasing that little trespasser. How much will the whole Lumberyard 3/4 of a million dollars do I get the nails the nails go with it. How about the tools everything power tools Roofing everything for you? $700,000. Well, that's more like it. I like to get a break on things when I buy them. I know but I do but I think I know one at a time and when I buy them they stay bought. Well one measly board. the whole place I get the power tools, right how about extension cords? It's aggravating to try to use one of those power tools and then find you don't have an extension called. I got chords Galore hmm three prong three prong six hundred and fifty thousand dollars mrs. A grill. Oh, we're old friends. You bought many boards here over the years one at a time. Did you see that little black kid? Mr. Put down among the to by force. We're negotiating officer. Excuse me. I've been trying to catch him for years. Well, I get the nails in the package, right? How about the little red flags you put at the end of the long boards when you carry them in your car. I don't know about those. Those are valuable there. I may have to draw the line across to those little red flags is going up. I have to have those Oh No Deal Okay, I'll throw him in you're a tough woman to do business with mrs. A Grillo. And how much is one board $8.50. I got him. I'll take it. That's 850 plus 34 cents tax $500,000. What? Well at nine dollars plus gas 41 board. I'll take the whole Lumberyard $500,000 cash right now. Here. He is. Mr. Pruitt that kid, you're not kidding. No, I'm not kidding. It's a deal you bought it. Here's a receipt shake. This pocketbook is a mess. Here's y'all 500,000 cash. Here. He is. Mr. Pruitt that little trespasser release him release him. That's right Officer. But but if if this kid staked out for years now this captures something I've been building up to release him. You're better release him. It's her property now, that's right. I bought it got a good break. Oh that's a bonds and mr. Pruitt. I hate to say this, but you all know the trespasses. I would like you to move along and you little boys stay here. It's my lumber yard. Young man now that they are gone. I want to talk to you. How old are you eight you're eight and already you're a little black trespasser. I am a little black trespassing. Well, if you're a black trespass at 8:00. What are you going to be when you're older trespassing? I think that's exactly what you'll be and how are you going to feel then très passé? Right. Is that good? What being très passé now? I don't know honey. I don't know the law you need lawyers to understand all those things. I think they make it that way on purpose. So the common man in the street can't understand what they are saying. Anyway, your little and y'all black and you go on other people's property. What else do you do? There's one thing I don't do good. What's that? See? Why not? I'm blind. Come here, sweetheart. Let me give you a hug. Come here. Cool, honey, you can't see nope, since I was a baby. Well, then you're a terrific little trespassing if you're blind. I don't know if I'm terrific, but I'm sure they blind but they never catch me unless I let him how come I'm lightning fast. You let him catch you you little stinker. Well you are fast. I saw you run among the white pine like a snowflake. Let me look at you. You're covered with leaves and dust. You've got beautiful brown eyes. Yep, but they don't work. In fact, I've often thought about a way being blind could be useful to me. Since I can't see I never could I wonder what I wonder if maybe I'm not black. How do I know? I'm black. I don't know for sure. I'm black. I can feel my skin, but I can't see it. Maybe I'm white. No your black black is they come I sure sound like take a look at yourself. You're really black your color. That's what you are colored colored colored black right black so you can get that thought out of your head about being white. I can tell you're black and that's all there is to it and you've got beautiful brown. Sighs how about the rest of me? All the rest of you is beautiful too. Well, that's only fitting why. I won't tell how come we don't know each other well enough for me to tell you my secrets. I'll admit that. Well, I've reached my point of fatigue and I've got a Lumberyard and the trespasser. No, I don't honey. Yo, welcome to come here and hide and play among the siding and the shingles and the power saws all you want can a play on the plywood? Yes, I track hard. Everyone says I track dirt all over things. That's all right. This is Quality Lumber. It'll all wash off. If it doesn't I'll give somebody a break on it the way I like to get a break on things other people like to get a break on things. I'm at the end of my rope. I'm tired sit down. There's no place to sit out here in the yard. I'll make you a bench. I've got tons of lumber. Can you really make things? Yes. Oh, you're great at it. I'm too modest to tell you. Are you going to cut off your fingers? Are you tired merciful heaven? I'm exhausted. Give me the power saw you shouldn't I've got lots of extension cords. It's it all up and point me at the tuba Force White Pine Redwood. I've got a mountain of it. How are you Mark things Islands grab them with my jackknife. I'll sit on the ground. You picked up my melody. Yeah, I like it. I'll put words to it. I'll sit solemn by the Ruby fruit Winged Bird Winged Bird. I sit solemn by the Ruby fruit Winged Bird Harbor over. Oh merciful mother. You're cut off your fingers. No, I haven't. I almost got a splinter. Saying some more you sing beautifully that's part of my seat. I have a great Secret. You want to know my secret? Yes, I am a musical genius. I believe it. How come I can see what you're doing with that wood and you're not even looking you're not you know legs so they cross each other and fit into each other and it's all at an angle and all the pieces are popping out of the two by fours as if they were pre-cut if you can handle music the way you handle that saw I'll say you're a genius. They think I'm a freak. Oh where I come from. They make me play four quarters. What do you play? How tall sex but I don't really play. I've never played the way I really can I run away. I'm what's called a problem child you run away and trespass. honey Yes. My name is Sadie. My name is Larry. Okay, Shake. Let me hear you sing sing some more ice it solemn by the Ruby fruit Winged Bird Winged Bird. I sit solemn by the Ruby fruit wean bird hover over there's a time for you and a time for me bright feather of the creature comes its Island by the Ruby fruit bright feather Harbor over you are Musical. Ruby right feather Harbor over here's your bent sit yourself right down. It's beautiful. What a bench it just appeared in your hands Talent genius. Well, I'm going to plop myself right down on it. Nevermind. I didn't stick to the Scarsdale diet. Even on Sunday. Terrific bench. Let me see your hands. Yeah, they actually got them all all 10 fingers. Let me touch your face hold my hands to your face. What a Pity such beautiful brown eyes and they can't see not a blessed thing. CT yes, Larry Why did you buy this lumber yard because I needed a board for a shelf. I know people think I'm a little weird. I don't think it would I think we could be partners. I've done a lot of running and escaping and while I've been running I've been thinking I shall see T is horizontal. Yeah table and a bench is horizontal. There's a place in the world for shelves. I have a son who has rooms full of shelves. You never builds a thing for me though, and there's a place in the world for benches, but both shells and benches share a common denominator. They are hopelessly horizontal through fact of the matter is most of the world is laid out if you follow hopelessly laying out in horizontal, but you and I CD and Larry 868 and 8 respectively. We've got a kiln-dried Infinity of lumber Slumber in here in this lumber yard north of Lake Calhoun and do some of the Moon and we've got your magical siren. So we take this Lumber of this lumber yard, and we turn it into our lumber Tower aha sore and dizzy and lot of a tower and I'll climb up and blind as you are. I'll see. I don't know what I'll see but I'll surely see something. Wonderful. If I were to go up there having built-in myself with my power Sauron and if I can see maybe I can see what I need to help me and guide me so I don't waste my manhood like I wasted my Boyhood running and escaping. I would love to see something wonderful built out of all this Lumber we got tons of it and power saw we got Linea kilo miles of extension cords and carriage bolts of the ones where the heads are square and they stick in the wood and don't turn that so you can tighten. All right, we'll do it. Let's go. I've always wanted to build something quick before the sun goes down Sadie what Larry I don't need the Sun. You are trying to find 72 360 West Lake of the Isles boulevards. Are you going there to to the party? We're all going there all of you every one of us. Yes, we're laughing because each of us has come up to the others and ask for the address. What do you do? I look out for bargains. I look out for barbarians. It seemed like the right. So we are let's walk to the party together. I hope we find it. If we don't then we will be a party of strayed revelers ha ha. My name is Anderson Iceberg. What's yours Jane? Jane just plain Jane and what do you do? I teach at the University and what's your field imagination Innovation cooperation communication delegation fought in general and you what do you do? Well, I guard the The of life I'm always on the lookout for social wrongs, which I then try in my own way to correct. I try to do good. I'm always on the lookout for social wrongs particularly. I love it. You probably don't want to hear no, I'm fascinated. I'm a concerned person to I'm very involved in imagination and cooperation and Innovation. Well, I'm interested in Social wrongs, but particularly in enormity enormities enormities really big enormous wrongs. Then I get them. I have some pretty good connections with the newspapers here in town that's fascinating. I like to cut my way through the underbrush and see if there are any enormities going on. I'd like to penetrate through the thickets and see if there are any malefactors malefactor any place or anything right or malefactor you anything. I'm particularly interested in ecology environment natural resources and quality of life. I'm a quality of life guard. Well, I think we'll have a lovely time at the party. We have our Gaffney if we ever get there, if we don't we'll just have to be our own little party of strayed Reverend Jana. Just plain Jane. Hey, what's that? It's Lumberyard. It certainly is there's something strange going on there with those lights strung up those boards in that. I'm anything being built and being built real fast. Let's go on over there and find out what's going on. Merciful Heaven, this is hard. You made the base. Very broad, Larry. Can you hear me up there? Yes, Edie. It's coming real fast. It's going to be a long way up. It'll be dark soon that don't bother me none. I'll be down in a minute. It's hard for me to talk with these carriage bolts in my mouth in your mouth. I own a whole Lumberyard. I must have dozens a cop and does aprons. I'll find you on don't make a move lady or I'll let you have it. You have a wooden leg. I used to be a pirate then I had a couple of misfortunes and I had to move to the Midwest now, I'm a Mugger. I am planning on mugging me, right so it couldn't have happened at a worse time Larry. I've got this 2x4 for ya a24 Florida, but I've got a problem. I'll be right down Sadie are going like a house of Fire Let's have your money before that kid gets down here and gets involved in this mugging. I've had a rough life. I'm dangerous here hold the end of this 2x4 me just hold it and I'll look around in my purse for my money. You caught me at a bad time for a mugging. I just gave the previous owner of this lumber yard. Mr. Pruitt $500,000 cash that certainly would have made your day and I'm very busy my partner Larry and I are build an Alum boat our now, what is that? What something you can see from? It goes way up. They say the maintain eye contact, but I need all the odds. I've got to find anything in this purse. Here's a collection envelope for church. You want what a mug that would you know, that's okay. I'll take it if you can spare it. No, it's a check. I'll take it made out jointly time out all of that. And st. Mary's Basilica. Are you serious? You don't look like either I don't mean to be rude, but you do have a wooden leg. You know, neither of them really has a wooden leg. Okay? Okay, hurry it up. I suppose read out all stamps. Don't interest you. Hey lady fair's fair. I'm conducting this mugging in a businesslike manner and all I've got is splintered. Well, this is a grill what's going on here? You can see that Tower four blocks officer Barnes. Would you hold the other end of this 2x4? I've got to heft it up to Larry to save time. This gentleman's being very kind. Hold one end. What is your name Nils? All right. I've got the board watch it Nils the we don't want. Each other splinters, but I still want to know what's going on here. I can never find a thing in this purse One Second Officer. I'm trying to find something for noodles here. He has one leg. Did you ever robbed a Pata Surrey? Who me? Are you serious? No, I meant Nils nilsen know and that's the truth too bad because I've always wanted to find out what a Patisserie is. What's that boy doing up there? You must be over a hundred feet up. He's trying to build vertical why so he can be free? I don't think I can do that. I mean, I don't think he's supposed to watch your with twisting this tool by for your given my wrist a cramp. Well Nils what we've got to do is decide where the two or the four side is up. Then we won't be working at cross-purposes. I think the kids got the right idea officer. Did you hear me? I said, I think the kids One who's got the right idea? bill build up build vertical it's a fantastic idea. God only knows what you'd be able to see from up high. I don't get me wrong Nails. I think it's well terrific, but I don't know if it's allowed was owning a safety neighborhood of child labor safety helmets. There's a lot of stuff you got understand to do any serious Billy that kid is doing what I'd call some serious building. How can he see in this light easy? He's blind Nils. I can't find a thing in here. Could you come back some other time when we're not so busy forget it. I'll be glad to stay and help the kid out personally. I think he's doing the right thing. Excuse me officer, but what's going on here? Mr. Pruitt that little boy. I used to chase all over your lumber yard as building a tower to see from here to Kingdom Come. I heard that and I don't think that's right. Did you hear that that little kids building a lumber Tower what a marketing tools the owner I am. I'm the leader of an orchestra. How much would it cost to have my name put up on your Tower and 30-foot letters. What's the name of your are castra? I forgotten I had a rush day. How high is he going? Do you think I could hire him as spot real estate Bargains? I want my lumber yard back. I'll pay you double. Why do you want it back? I had a Lumberyard all my life and never built anything with it. And I really don't want anything built with it. Now. I want it back. Sorry, but it's one of the facts a life that I've learned at age 68 that lumberyards don't come back. Hey Larry that may be dangerous. You it's a marketing tool and a half kid you up there. Don't listen to them. Larry Hey kid. Just keep it your work. I think the whole country's under attack by the barbarians. And what I want to know from you is can you see them are The Barbarians coming? Can you see them? If you can wave it's a great way to send messages. I want you to send the message to Congress. Keep an eye out for the barbarians all you'll know them when you see them. Do you think you could put my name up there? Hey kid, this is Anderson Iceberg. I guard the quality of life. Do you see any scrub brush? I could cut down to find felons. You see suspicious thickets buggy shrubs busy trees any evidence at all that the environment is threatened. I don't like this one bit. Hey the kids. All right. Hey Larry, watch out for that win. It'll carry you away. Up there. Yeah, he should he's okay. He's doing the right thing. That's what I should have done. I should have built something. Yep, improbable. Hey, you do away with the improbable and where am I a one-legged mugger and Minnesota? No, you gotta go for the improbable. It's the only real possibility. I got to get where he can hear me officer. Stop. This The Barbarians are coming. Hey, Larry send a message while you're up there. He must be 200 feet up. Hey, Larry. I respect you because you got a real good idea. My name is Nils. Can you hear me up there? I can't. I lost the boy in the war. The government put a star on my door, but the boy never came back. I'll tell you what I hoped for but you got to realize I'm a real dumb man. That's why I live like I do. I used to think that my dead boy would somehow follow that star back to my house. Figured g a star that's got to be good for something special. I thought he'd follow it and come to the door. I thought it might happen because I would love it so much if he would come back and I could Hold him. So that's what I thought. Can you hear me way up there? I can hear your news. I thought maybe you could send a message to him. You're way up there and you've got some kind of God given gift. You see how dumb I am. I thought he might come back. He was dead. right, Larry Thanks. Thank you. Larry. Send a message to the sufferers everywhere. He stacked a whole pile of two-by-fours up there and now he's mortal sin and Tennyson and them into place way up to the top. It's not safe here. I'll just bet that's right. What the heck about building code 16 inches on Center a kid. You can't know what you're doing. You're breaking the law left and right. I was a master of tolerances. I'm not going to put up with this send a message to the Moral Majority. He's the worst the yeast the best becoming at the blacksmith's the odd the eve of the east of 11 to the baby birds fully mature way Robert this kind of thing is not permitted. I tell you I'm from the University. What a few fool worse. What if he doesn't I think the barbarians are coming. I'm going home to get my trench coat. I definitely think they're coming. I'm just positive there's barbarians out there officer Barnes. I must warn you that I have very strong taste and architecture and theater and the simply will not do I want him stop this instant. You hear me and put down that absurd 2x4. Yes, ma'am, but he's not doing anything really illegal. Of course he is you can tell by the look of him. He's probably a thief we all have our billing. He's probably a murderer upbringing hard time as youth understandable rapist at eight years old. They find ways. Well, he'll improve Change his ways Rehabilitation work with his hands. What he is doing is unreal. Real that I cannot forgive that more like there are limits unrealistic. Come on down young fellow, excuse me, but this is private property. You leave him alone. I Am pro imagination, but there's a time and a place for everything. We have facilities to train and to teach people how to do this job how to build towers how to go up them Better Built and better place towers and with the right kind of people going up them one of these days one of these trained and appropriate people will go up a lumber Tower but not now and not here and not you. She's right. She's a nerd other people other times other Towers other plans better Visions cleaner people all other than you your little and black for God's sake and blind. Maybe you went one step too far. One Step too far I'm going to the top. She called you blind know when she called your black know when she called me little who built this Tower who raised it up who put a hook in the nostril of this Leviathan. I did I put the hook in the nostril of Leviathan. I did and who helped me Sadie pencil. She is my partner. We have its 38 year-old the both us. We're in the prime of our life. Double Prime. It's true. We did we are I'm going all the way up to the top because there is Beauty in this situation and I'm going to drink it down I want up. I want to have one great thing built before I die things good unrealistic, then it's time for the police to move in. Go for it. Larry you please a great at catching little boys. Why don't you go out and catch some criminals? I've got to stop it. This is private property get off it. I'm coming up. I've made Cuts in all the Timbers. I have calibrated them by weakening them with these Cuts. So they all take no more than 60 pounds me and no one else. So if you think that you're going to be coming up here, you better be one really calibrated cop. I teach the proper use of the imagination stopping for the love of God leave him alone stopping it isn't right. It isn't Dumb isn't fair to our City hours. I'm going home to pray in front of my TV set. Well traffic better GPA. What about the teamsters ladies the blackie jungle bunnies mix the spics the tricks of the dicks of flicks the coast the weirdo Teamster has this been looked into baby bird. This is an enormity. I mean Norma see Normandy I sit solemn by the Ruby Waynesboro. I'm going to the top in the howling storm. I'm going to see see what color really is because Isles I know I will absolutely no, I don't want anyone imagining anything. I couldn't imagine. This is an ugly Tower. I have friends who will soon have a plan for a lovely Tower better people than you much better. I don't want anyone climbing anywhere without Mike. Was it permission ever? I hate anyone who has the hot spot a claim that he is a little climbing blind black genius. Shut up James don't I have always hated the blindness of strangers. I'll tear this thing down myself board by both know you won't lose going to stop me. Everyone here agrees with me. Shut up. This is our toe. You are aware don't don't even have the right number of legs and we make the decisions. No, you don't this is my lumber yard all my life. People have been telling me what to do. I was a wife. My husband told me I was a widow the authorities told me my grown sons told me now the voice of the population at large and the Twin Cities is telling me well. I'm telling you the worm has turned that boy is going up come Heaven hell or high water because he has magic hands and because he has brown eyes and because a person is a dignity because he needs to see see what Whatever it is that can only be seen from the top of a tower. You've built by yourself in the howling storm. Help me to pull it down leave us alone. This is private property. This is Sadie a grillo's Lumberyard. Now now wait a minute. Well, then I'll pull it down personally. Have you pry it and I'll pull the hair out of your head by its roots wouldn't get physical. Try me right for you say dear. Oh stop hugging me nails. Remember your occupation. What do you see Larry? Are you all the way there? What do you see Larry? What do you see? I'm up on the top of eight million metric killer metric equivalents of good strong Lumber and I tell you friends. I can dress the air with my hands and make grain fall from its Clarity. I've got my eyes closed and I can see Ivory laced with blood and a star that guide and a boy who had too much wood to walk Hi-C white hopes by campfire light can striated Moonlight find Stones obsidian and I can see from Arabia to bessarabia Green enamel on gold and all of its fragrant and lots of quiet Prairie Grass. And when you're all right. In my eyes. What do you see when I open my eyes? I can see it everywhere and it's what I need. It's what I need to build you something wonderful. So Sadie it is music. Lumberyard a play by Paul d'andrea featuring Wendy layer as Sadie Rick Murphy as Larry Gene Blake is Jane Jim slowly act as the mugger. Jimbaran as Pruitt and Anderson Iceberg Bill Paran is Officer Barnes and voiced one Lynn Musgrave as voice, too. Technical director Fred wasser with assistance from Todd garton flow directed by Larry widely produced by Dale Conley executive producer and see Fusion. Hello. Again. This is Dale Connolly with Paul. D'andrea who wrote the play you just heard lumberyard in a moment. We're going to open the phone lines and give you an opportunity to comment and to ask questions about tonight's play here are the numbers in the Twin Cities 2276 thousand that's 2276 thousand if you live in the state of Minnesota, but outside the Twin Cities, we have a toll-free wats line 1-800-695-1418. If you live outside the state of Minnesota, you can call us collect at 6122276 Thousand while you collect your thoughts and all your phones. We're going to hear from City Pages drama critic Robert Collins who couldn't be in the studio with us tonight, but who recorded this review of lumber yard. Things get unrealistic, then it's time for the police to move in. That's what one of the characters and Paul Den Draya's play Lumberyard says and I must confess. I feel somewhat the same but things do get a bit out of control in this play and someone has to blow the whistle. So here goes it seems to me that this play is trying to do too many things at once and as a result does none of them. Well enough the play is a curious mixture of fantasy satire and humor, but these separate elements never really come together. The fantasy is never fantastic enough the satire never shop enough the humor never funny enough the ideas behind the fantasy need to be laid out much more precisely the satire needs to be much more focused as for the humor. Well, some people can tell a joke and some can't at its core lumber yard is a Charming fantasy about a 68 year old Widow and an eight year old black boy who is blind and claims to be a musical genius. It's clear from the start that we Not in the realm of everyday reality when the old woman pulls from her pocketbook a cool half million dollars to buy an entire Lumberyard rather than pay nine dollars for a single board, but things get stranger still when the boy and the old lady decided to build a tower up into the sky the world. It seems is hopelessly horizontal what's needed is an emphasis on the vertical so far so good accept it for what it's worth and you have a cute little fable about Talent genius and creativity being held down by the constraints of a mundane Society. The problem is we don't get any specifics. How do you show musical talent and genius and an eight-year-old who never plays his instrument. You can't we have to accept that on faith and what exactly has been holding this little boy back. We're never really told and what is the cause of the old woman's malaise who knows everything is left too vague. It's an intentional vagueness but to satisfying nonetheless things get more out of hand when a group of Igor's wonder over to check out that Tower. Here's with the playwright poke satiric fun at University types do-gooders muggers and a host of others. But what does all this have to do with that little boy and that old woman? I mean specifically what does it have to do with him? Not much. This is a play about ideas and which the ideas are not properly laid out in examined. We must simply accept everything as a given and that's not good enough the mugger in the play blindly accept the notion that to build vertical is a fantastic idea unlike the mugger. I cannot unquestioningly accept that notion vertical is just a Direction. I want to know a whole lot more about what it stands for. That's Robert Collins drama critic for City Pages magazine. We want to hear your thoughts about lumber yard as well. We'll give you those numbers. Once again in the Twin Cities. The number is two two seven six thousand within the state of Minnesota, but outside the Twin Cities area. Have a toll-free wats line. 1-800-695-1418 is in the studio tonight Paul. Why don't you take a moment here to comment on Robert Collins criticism. He called your play a play about ideas in which ideas are not properly laid out and examined. How about that? Sure, I'd be glad to comment on that. I'm delighted that Bob Collins reviewed the plate. Sorry. You didn't like it. I love his newspaper City Pages. I think it's a wonderful paper has excellent criticism particularly. The dance criticisms his his actions the point about the the play being button idea. Actually, it's not an action. The action is a little boy and I Lady getting together to build a vertically and that's what it's really about. Yeah, if plays were just ideas but type mode on four by six cards and read them the key points I got in Bob's review. Honed in on how do you show musical talent and genius and an eight-year-old anyway, and I think that must have something to do with the Mind's Eye. There's there's a bid for the imagination in Lumberyard. We want to see in Our Minds Eye this boy building upward and if you see the tower In your mind's eye going up 200 feet in the howling storm. Then he's a genius and if you don't then the play won't read that way. So are you saying the Bob Collins just didn't imagine it well enough when when he heard the plate I yeah, that's what I'm saying. Now, you know, it's I think a key question is whether we feel for the humanity when when he says the play poke satiric fun it at muggers, for example. Well less that's not the case. The the muggers that is one of the great allies of of the boy of Larry and of Sadie, but at any rate, when it we want to hear is what the audience feels about the play and you know, he he Bob didn't like my trespassers that perhaps you'll forgive us. Our trespasses. Okay. We have a couple of callers waiting to a comment and ask questions. The first one is on the are good evening. I have you got a comment or a question for Paul d'andrea. No, not really. What did you think of the play? I thought you liked it. I'm a son. Oh ha ha. Okay. Well you can be you can be Expect While I suppose you could shouldn't be expected. I suppose your son doesn't like things that you do. Sometimes he's got a very critical imagination. All right. Well, let's go to our next caller. Good evening here on the air. Hi. Hi. Have you got a comment or a question? First? I have something that is really didn't mention which I think is a strong point of the play and then a criticism I have of it. All right. I think the first thing that I liked about it was they was very nice radio drama and you know, it is clearly a play that I think would be very difficult to perform on stage. But you know on the air, I think that the imagination to their that it was a play that only could be done on radio and and so in that way I think was I think was successful the problem that I had with it was that I thought basically it was self-indulgent. In other words the that the author kind of threw in everything. It's kind of a stew of of ideas that he had at the moment. I'm give two examples first. Is this interesting line where I think it was the University woman said, I've always hated the blindness of strangers. Well, you know, that's shades of Streetcar Named Desire. What's its purpose their second is the line about what is a Patisserie. You know, I've always wanted to find out what a Patisserie is. Let's just a cheap musical joke. So I think the with rewriting much tighter strip script there. There's good idea here. Okay, let's get Paul's response to that. What about the cheap Music Hall jokes? Well the participate well, I think sheet music all jokes are really lovely. They have their fun and endearing actually. I don't know if the The Patisserie is a joke. It's say it's comedy of character. Whereas jokes are disembodied verbal units and it's it's comedy of character Sadie's character because she while she's being mugged. She's trying to find out what this strange thing called a Patisserie is just hoping that Nils robbed one so that she could find out and she's has no thought at the time of her having him arrested. So I feel that the comes right up out of her character, you know, and if it Doesn't then it's a no, then it's a failure and if it does seem to enrich Sadie's nature and present her as a rich nature, then it's successful. Okay, we have callers waiting to comment. So let's go on to the next person. Good evening. You're on the air. Have you got a question? No. No, I just have a comment. I thought it was a really nice radio play. I enjoyed it. It was a nice and charming and I really liked the ending at the idea of seeing music. Alright, well, thank you very much for saying that. You know, there's there's so much horizontal living and writing that goes on that. I wanted to try something that goes up vertically and we really are unused two things. Which climb you know what I mean Aspire go up as send the way towers do and Steeples and and the like and I wanted to see, you know, I can't build one on stage like this but in the radio in the Mind's Eye, I figured I could and so I thought I'd go for and I'm delighted to hear you say that exactly it was just a nice twist. We were sitting around having dinner and wondering how you were. To to end it and it was just we just both looked at each other and had a nice smile on their faces nice. So yes, we enjoyed it very much. God bless you. You made my decade, right? Okay. Well, let's see if we can find another one like that. Good evening. You're on the air. Yes. I'm I have just a few scattered comments. I think I have to agree with the first critic that the play tried to handle too many issues in Too Short a time. And I think that Force the playwright to miss opportunities for characterization and for humor that I know he's capable of either either the price should be expanded so that those themes could be better developed or it should be shortened and just one issue should be handled. I thought the play was interesting and I certainly agree with those who said it was a good radio play because it called upon Imagination I love the sound of the buzz so that I knew the tower was getting higher and higher and higher. I think I have a couple of criticisms more of the delivery of the play than of the play itself. For example, I felt it needed a real child's voice. It was hard for me to imagine an eight-year-old when I heard a voice that I knew belong to somebody and at least in his 20s. I thought the little Melody that was repeated over and over again should have been a more interesting one a little picture Touch of sadness or a little minor tone in it would have made it more thought provoking. I think the the playwright again back to my first statement missed some opportunities for humor because he had to hurry at the end and it's and had to get a bit preachy I guess those are my comments. Okay. Thank you very much for calling unless you have a specific response. We do have people waiting my So I think those are telling and useful comments. Okay, let's go to our next caller. Good evening. You're on the air. Thank you for one of your hands from the United Nation difficult to criticize you because of that they enjoyed it. I'm sorry that you're very critic isn't there to hear some of the comments being made they'd have one problem with it. And that Larry didn't sound black was he he was indeed black. Yes. He was like, yeah like talk to him sometime. Yeah for me. There's one line in the play where he does say I sure sound black. Yes. He must have thought he did. Congratulate for doing something to make people think and there's nothing wrong with making people think that gets back to the other callers comment about Larry not sounding like he was eight years old either. Well that didn't bother me as much as the fact that I'm convinced. It is in town black. Well, you know the the Larry on whom I built this eight-year-old areas of black playwright friend of mine. Whom I knew when I lived in Chicago an adult man and elements of his character quixotic and so forth find their way into my eight year old black Larry here. So it's important that he read IE sound black. So that's that's a that's a good comment. We should get that across. All right, let's go on to our next caller a good evening. You're on the air. Hello. I'm calling from Lauderdale, Minnesota. All right, and wondering if if the playwright has intentional or unintentional parallels with the story of Jesus Christ in the Play tonight. Well, thank you for that question Guardian in Larry a man who has rejected a man who was a carpenter a man who was an intercessor when he climbed down to that Tower. He was an intercessor between the characters and and what they wanted to know about life after death and that kind of thing, right? They say send a message to the sufferers everywhere, which I think is very poignant. I can say that, you know, I wrote it because I sounded that way to me in the in the acting thank you for the question. The answer is not consciously and unconsciously set out to create an a analogy or an allegory. However, there are some great action. So powerful that they resonate forever and the actions of Jesus are that kind and so and he went up high didn't he on a wooden object? And so when when you're talking about a cent or Intermediary between the mystery and us these very powerful religious images which might but by the way also come from religions other than the Christian manifest themselves as overwhelmingly powerful story. So yes, they do link up at I think that's the imagination working on me rather than me working on the imagination. It wasn't intentional. No. All right. Let's take our next caller. Good evening. You're on the air good evening. My question is I couldn't help but wondering in the line where I believe it's the university Professor who states that I have very specific taste in architecture and theater in this simply will not do if Mr. Dan dries. Poking fun at himself almost. I'm only I'm familiar with another work of his and I couldn't help but thinking at that moment my mind turned to to him all of a sudden him as the person the so is the playwright and knowing that he is a staff member at the University. Well, I am poking fun. I don't know if I'm booking myself for not another unintentional move right there. You know, that's a trap for that certain kind of mentality that has its mind made up on what is right and nothing else can be allowed and nothing else will do and that's why poor Nils the mugger keeps trying to say Hey. Listen. Yeah. I'm I'm Pro the improbable you do way the improbable and where am I? I'm a one lug one-legged mugger, you know, so It's a poke at a certain kind of mentality. They can't get out of the horizontal. Okay, we're going to have time I think to take one more call good evening. You're on the air. Hi. I'd like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the play and I really enjoyed the richness of the language the visual images of the little boy were really wonderful and I'm looking forward to hearing more plays by. Mr. Dandrea on television. I'm a fan Paul. Oh good. Are you going to have plays on television? Let's see. I don't have any immediate plans for plays on television go but the full-length portrait of America was excerpted on TV month or so ago. I think we have time for one more caller. If we've got one more there good evening, you're on the air was really good. It was very good. And and I feel like a lot of people are wrong that they're saying, it's bad. I liked it. Okay. Thank you very much for your comment here. You have another decade that's been made. It sounds like fall Dandrea. Thanks for joining us. Well, I'm very pleased to have had this. Opportunity to interact with these with my audience. Okay. Thanks a lot. You've been listening to playwrights lab 82 co-production of Minnesota Public Radio, and the playwright's center technical director for tonight's broadcast red Olson production assistance from Nancy Fusion. The next play in this series will be Pentecost by John Olive. You will hear it on Saturday May 8th at 7 p.m. I hope you'll join us then I'm Dale Connolly. Thanks for listening and good evening.