Clybourne Park

Act One

It is 3 PM on a Saturday afternoon in 1959. Bev and Russ’ three-bedroom Bungalow in Clybourne Park is packed into boxes. After the death of their son, their grief has compelled them to sell their home and move to the suburbs. Russ sits, reading and eating ice cream, while Bev – assisted by her housekeeper France -- continues to pack. Russ and Bev bicker (sometimes playfully, sometimes with more charge behind it) about the names of various European capitals. They theorize about the origin of the word Neapolitan, and its relationship to ice cream and to Naples. The phone rings, and Francine answers, and tells her boss that Mr. Karl Lindner is calling. Just then, the young local minister, Jim, stops by to chat with his parishioners. Bev is still on the phone with Mr. Lindner, and tells him that her husband isn’t feeling well, but Karl insists on stopping by.

Meanwhile, Jim is speaking to Russ. Bev asks Francine if she and Russ might be able to move her son’s large trunk