Article 59

3w
1w 60s; 1w 23-28; 1w 19-22

Article 59 of the International Code of Nomenclature for Fungi comes up against article 59 of the North Carolina General Statutes. Lynette is a biology/computer science double major, rooming with her alcoholic Nana while attending college. Albertine, her older sister, is attending law school in the same town. When Nana gets arrested for drunk driving, both sisters dive in to get the situation resolved.

Article 59 requires one main set, the eat-in kitchen area and entry of a small two-bedroom apartment, along with minimal, light-defined areas for a prison cell and a rehab center room. Only monologues occur in these secondary locations, so they are easily isolated. A fair number of props are required, but nothing more unusual than liquor bottles. The play contains a number of short scenes (9 in the first act; 6 in the second), but they are constructed to avoid the need for stage management attention during scene changes of the main set.

Article 59 contains a lot of sarcastic comedy, particularly in interactions with the feisty Nana, but there's a lot of heart too in the sisters working together and getting to understand one another more deeply. The topics of divorce, alcoholism, and lesbianism are raised, but not in a heavy-handed manner. It's the heart at the center of even a dysfunctional family that drives this play.