OUR SHRINKING SHRINKING WORLD

Full-length, Comedy

By Richard Dresser

Dr. Lyman Hidalgo-Nyquist is the only therapist in a faded New England mill town. His one remaining patient is Teddy, a down-on-his-luck cop, who lost his gun and can only get his job back by seeing a therapist. Another therapist shows up in town, the mysterious Dr. Michael Carver. The two therapists battle each other for the chance to save Teddy and his girlfriend through couples’ counseling with the fate of humanity in the balance.

“A unique modern comedy...captivating...incisive dialogue...the humor just keeps on coming.” —Broadway World

“A big guffaw-generating surprise...consistently clever...constantly pulling the rug out from under you...philosophical themes with a light touch.” —NJ Arts

“A play that surprises you at every turn...turns cliches on their head to mine humor while seriously addressing the need to find and hold onto hope in an ever-depressing world...verbally vivid...a joy to experience.” —Out in Jersey

Production Information

Cast of Characters
(2W, 2M)
DR. LYMAN HIDALGO-NYQUIST
A veteran therapist whose practice has seen better days, 40s-60s

TEDDY BUCKO
A down-on-his-luck policeman, 30s-40s

KATRINA PENDERGAST
Teddy’s girlfriend, an ER nurse, 30s-40s

DR. MICHAEL CARVER
A therapist, 30s-40s

Author

Richard Dresser

Over the past twenty years, RICHARD DRESSER’S plays have been widely produced on and off Broadway, in the nation’s leading regional theaters, and extensively throughout Europe. BELOW THE BELT, about three American men attempting to work together in a foreign land, started at the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival, ran off-Broadway at the John Houseman Theatre, appeared throughout the country, and was a long-running hit in Berlin, triggering many European productions. It was subsequently made into a film HUMAN ERROR, directed by Robert M. Young, which appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. ROUNDING THIRD, which deals with competition in American society through the prism of Little League baseball, premiered at the Northlight Theater in Chicago, ran off-Broadway and has since had hundreds of productions throughout the country.  It was recently made into a movie starring John C. McGinley and Garret Dillahun which will be released in 2016. His trilogy of plays about happiness in America, with each play set in a different social class, includes: AUGUSTA (working class), THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS (middle class) and A VIEW OF THE HARBOR (upper class). Other plays include...[FULL BIO]