Bøger af Kenny Finkle

Combining the Greek myth of Penelope awaiting the return of her husband, Odysseus, with modern tales of life in Ithaca, New York, Kenny Finkle uses his renowned sense of whimsy and humanity to explore our need to be loved. "... a new play is the lifeblood of a thriving theater, and Ithaca has been especially blessed of late with new plays. Finkle has set the bar high. To capture some piece of the spirit of a place and its inhabitants, while reworking a well-worn story, pulling apart notions of heroism, bravery, sacrifice, faithfulness and love this one story has come to embody ... All this is sketched lightly, almost breezily, for it is the launching pad for Finkle's deeper purpose. What does it mean to wait, to be a woman with an M I A husband, raising their son? To become defined by a first, all encompassing love that never had time to mature? To be wound up tight against feeling, against even acknowledging loss, grief? As the older Penelope negotiates these questions, the play takes on depth, color, urgency ... When finally it all begins to unravel, the breaking flood of desire, hurt and hope she displays is breathtaking. Her partner in this dance is the man not chosen ... Their ebb and flow as a couple ... is subtle, mercurial and enchanting. [The play] glimmers with many facets of beauty and a smart elucidation of the awful requirements of love." -Ross Haarstad, Lansing Star A beautiful modern romance, PENELOPE OF ITHACA explores the complexities of time-tested love. With her soldier husband lost at war, Penelope's loyalty is put to the test as she struggles to reconcile her undying love for Odysseus with the uniquely human need to be loved in the here and now." -Stephanie Miller, Lansing Star

In this unabashedly sentimental comedy, a cat named Samantha has just started living with a guy named Shuman who she believes is her true love. At first everything seems to be going great. Samantha can't get enough of Shuman, and she can't get enough of him. But soon Samantha realizes that Shuman doesn't always seem to understand her. Worse yet, Shuman doesn't always seem all that interested in trying to understand her. Things become truly problematic when one night Oscar, a sexy alley cat, shows up at the door. Suddenly Samantha begins to wonder whether she's an indoor or an outdoor cat. To make matters more complicated, a quirky aspiring cat therapist named Matilda inserts herself into the mix, thinking she can solve everyone's problems but only seems to make things worse. Eventually Samantha finds herself on a journey, both physical and emotional, that leads her to discover what having a home and being loved really mean to her. INDOOR/OUTDOOR is an allegory about the difficulties and joys of all manner of relationships. "Genuine kindness - the type that isn't coated in mawkishness or undercut with irony - is about as rare in the theater as a talking cat. Kenny Finkle's INDOOR/OUTDOOR has both ... it's the improbably story of a kitten who follows the path of so many heroes by leaving home to find herself. It is also a clever, big-hearted comedy that makes it easy to feel good. Finkle gives his central characters rich detail, letting comedy arise naturally from their interactions. More than making jokes, he's crafting a story. INDOOR/OUTDOOR is less about cats than about glorious, permanent love." -Mark Blankenship, Variety "... What a wonderful treat ... to discover ... a refreshing and clever play made more, well, 'purrrrfect' ... Finkle's story offers a crafty humor and a few lessons in life to be gleaned from it, proving it ultimately touched by a poet ..." -Travis Michael Holder, Backstage "Samantha is a cat with a story to tell. It's a good story - poignant, witty and even a little wacky at times. And though it's a cat's story, it's human at its core, which makes Kenny Finkle's new play INDOOR/OUTDOOR so enjoyable ..." -David Cameron, The Ithaca Journal