Bed and Sofa

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Overview

In Moscow, in 1926, a housing crisis rages. In a cramped apartment, Ludmilla, a put-upon housewife, lives in dreamy complacency with her cheerful despot of a husband, Kolya. When one day, Kolya's handsome comrade, Volodya, arrives from the country, but can find no lodgings, Kolya offers him their sofa. When Kolya returns early from a business trip, he is shocked to discover that Ludmilla and Volodya have become lovers. Kolya moves out, but there is still nowhere to live, so he reluctantly returns, taking the ...
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Overview

In Moscow, in 1926, a housing crisis rages. In a cramped apartment, Ludmilla, a put-upon housewife, lives in dreamy complacency with her cheerful despot of a husband, Kolya. When one day, Kolya's handsome comrade, Volodya, arrives from the country, but can find no lodgings, Kolya offers him their sofa. When Kolya returns early from a business trip, he is shocked to discover that Ludmilla and Volodya have become lovers. Kolya moves out, but there is still nowhere to live, so he reluctantly returns, taking the sofa, leaving Ludmilla and Volodya the bed. Kolya stalls the new couple's lovemaking with endless games of checkers, so that slowly, to Ludmilla's frustration, Volodya becomes more interested in the manly sport of checkers than in sex. Finally, Volodya reveals himself to be just as much a domestic despot as Kolya. So Ludmilla banishes Volodya to the sofa and takes the bed for herself. Ludmilla's "marriage" to the two men has already had its consequence as she is pregnant. The two men bicker over who is the father and finally decree: Ludmilla must have an abortion. Acquiescing, Ludmilla waits her turn in a frighteningly efficient clinic. But seeing a living, breathing baby out the window convinces her to leave, without the procedure. She packs up and abandons her two "husbands," declaring them unworthy to be fathers, and Kolya and Volodya find themselves alone in the close Moscow flat. They have no choice: As Ludmilla rides alone into the exciting unknown, Kolya takes the bed and Volodya the sofa.
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Editorial Reviews

NY Magazine
Fresh and endearing! As original as it is impudent! The show has jaunty music by Polly Pen and a jazzy text by Laurence Klavan.
NY Newsday
Enchanting! Exquisite! A wholly original piece of musical theatre!
NY Times
A delight! First rate! A classy treat! A new work that both honors the original and gives it a sternly funny stage life of its own.
Village Voice
Wonderful! A must see! So perfectly done it is almost unfair to the rackety hacks who infest our musical theater.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780822215486
  • Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 10/1/1997

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