Running time: 110-120 minutes
Themes: Suicide. Bipolar disorder. Drug use. Loosely based on historical subject matter.
In 1838, Elizabeth Whales receives an unusual marriage proposal from the young inventor and dentist Horace Wells. She is fascinated by his mercurial disposition and looks forward to living the rest of her life by his side, sharing in his highs and lows. But sharing his passions turns out to be more difficult than she had imagined.
Cast of Characters
Elizabeth Whales/Wells: age 20 to 70
Horace Wells: age 23 to 33
Mary Whales: age 23 to 33
William Morton: age 20 to 33
A puppet/masked actor version of Horace
A puppet baby Charles
A puppet/masked actor that is a stand-in for an amalgamation of Horace & Charles
Place
The Whales’s drawing room.
The Well’s drawing room.
A dentist’s surgery.
A prison cell in New York City.
A woman’s dreamscape.
Time
ACT 1 takes place from 1838 to 1848.
ACT 2 moves through time freely between 1838 and 1889, and the present.
On NPX