The evening begins with three young couples playing Twenty Questions. Drinks have been flowing, and the personalities of the six friends begin to clash. There is the biting, cynical wit of cancer-stricken Jo; her likeable husband Sam; stiff and proper Edgar; his wife, the easily-insulted Lucinda; easy-going Fred; and his lover, the outsider, Carol. When Jo’s pain becomes so intense that she begins to scream, she and Sam retire for the evening. The stage empties, revealing Elizabeth and Oscar They are elegant, handsome, and quite clearly together. She is from Dubuque, and claims to be Jo’ mother. The two of them handle all queries from Sam and the previous night’s guests, but questions still remain. It seems as if Elizabeth must be, in some way, representative of death itself, and the comfort it can bring. No real answers are given, but death rarely brings answers - it only brings endings.
The Lady From Dubuque guide sections
