That's It, Folks! - Acting Edition

by Mark O'Donnell

Set on "the last day on earth," this explosive farce details the reactions of a particularly zany household to the unexpected news that the world is about to end first their disbelief and then their relief that they will no longer have to worry about refilling ice trays. Among those present are Eden, a pure-spirited girl who is trying to communicate with other planets so that she can exchange recipes; her boyfriend, Otis, a satanist who speaks in verse and aspires to become the Antichrist's personal secretary; a suicidal nymphomaniac who works for a fashion magazine which is all cover and no text; her last pick-up, Zed, a money-mad opportunist whose ambition is to be a magazine cover boy; and a senile ghost who cannot quite grasp the fact that he is dead. As promised the world does expire, with distant planets looming into view; ominous radio voices broadcasting doomsday reports; two hard-hatted angels industriously sweeping up the post-apocalypse detritus; and, in the end, one lone, dazed survivor (Zed) left behind trying to figure out what went wrong and why.

Genres: Plays

72 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 1983

About the author

Mark O’Donnell was an American writer and humorist. O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan shared the 2003 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical for their work on Hairspray, and they wrote the 2007 film adaptation. The pair also worked on another John Waters musical adaptation, Cry-Baby, for which they received a 2008 Tony nomination.

O’Donnell’s novels include Getting Over Homer and Let Nothing You Dismay. Along with Bill Irwin, he wrote Scapin, a 1997 play adapted from the original by Molière.

A 1980 article he wrote for Esquire, "O'Donnell's Laws of Cartoon Motion," was both widely quoted ("1. Any body suspended in space will remain suspended in space until made aware of its situation") and widely circulated by fans of cartoon physics.