Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune

by Terrence McNally

A full length comedy for one man and one woman. The setting is a walk-up apartment on Manhattan's West Side where, as the curtain rises, Frankie (a waitress) and Johnny (a short-order cook who works in the same restaurant) are discovered in bed. It is their first encounter, after having met several weeks ago on the job, and Frankie is hopeful that Johnny will now put on his clothes and depart, so she can return to her usual routine of watching TV and eating ice cream. But Johnny, a compulsive talker (and romantic), has other ideas. He is convinced that he loves Frankie, a notion that she, at first, considers to be ridiculous. She has had more disappointments than delights in life, and he is the veteran of one broken marriage already. And neither of them is in the bloom of youth. Yet out of their sometimes touching, sometimes hilarious interplay the promise of a relationship beyond a "one-night stand" does begin to emerge and, as the lights dim, the two are back in bed again, but this time side-by-side, holding hands before the glowing television screen.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, Fiction, Romance

72 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1988

About the author

Terrence McNally was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," McNally was the recipient of five Tony Awards. He won the Tony Award for Best Play for Love! Valour!

Reviews

[Benjamin Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are parts of this play that are so beautiful I felt sick reading them.

[Tiffany Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd only read bits and pieces of this in the past, for scene work and monologues, etc (and saw the movie, which everybody knows is a total re-working... although I really liked it), and just never got around to reading the whole show --- but SO glad I did. I absolutely love this play and these characters. I actually cried -more than once- reading it. I have to see this live someday (or even better - perform it!) - sorry I missed Kathy Bates back in the day... 5 stars

[Mind the Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Om jag har en sjukdag händer det att jag sträcker mig efter den här dvd:n - som jag ännu inte haft hjärta att göra mig av med. Så inte konstigt att det blev min första lockdown-läsning.

En bonus med att läsa originalmanuset är bilagan längst bak. Där finns en ritning över Frankies lägenhet med den centrala bäddsoffan t.ex. I den flera sidor långa rekvisitalistan finns tidsmarkörer och singel-i-storstan-saker som anslagstavla med takeout-menyer, bord och andra ytor med yellow pages, halvdöda krukväxter, "stack of 5 paperbacks", en flaska vin... samt servitrisuniformen på en krok.

Tänk Kathy Bates, i första uppsättningen för scenen. Hade varit fantastiskt att se. Det finns också en juicy story om hur det gick när Stanley Tucci skulle spela Johnny en period.

En podcast där det tittas tillbaka på filmatiseringen från 90-talet. Fnissade mkt åt idén att Terence Trent D'Arby skulle "skriksjunga" titeln på fler filmer.

https://podtail.com/en/podcast/this-h...

[John Geddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep waiting to read something from Terrence McNally that I don't love. His dialogue is so effortless and captivating. I don't particularly identify with either of the characters, but I almost immediately recognized them and was invested in them. Message-wise, it's both simple and complex-- two people who seems meant for each other have to overcome all of the doubts and pessimism that middle age bring with it.

1m/1f, single setting

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An open, honest conversation between two people who feel broken,
in hopes they can repair themselves and each other.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll be honest. I didn't want to read this. I was assigned it for a theater class. And it was okay. Not good, not bad, just okay, and somewhat boring. Granted, I usually find reading a play disappointing (although there are some notable exceptions, The Crucible comes to mind). It's completely possible that had I seen this on stage, I would have found it enchanting. But I didn't, so I don't.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tough one for me. I liked a lot about this two-person play set in a modest NY apartment over the course of 24-ish hours, but .... There's always a but, right? In our current #metoo climate, some of Johnny's actions can be construed as stalkerish rather than sincere and romantic. Can a production be successful now? Probably, but it'd have to be handled very, very delicately.

[Nick K · Rating 1 out of 5]

The play is repetitive, the characters are a bit obnoxious and the play is long and boring. Although maybe Kathy Bates (who originated the role of Frankie) brought a little magic to it. Maybe it plays better onstage, but it was a disappointing read.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's some great dialogue here, and yet the characters seem a little too moody and flippant to be completely believable. A great idea that could have been fleshed out more.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this today because I am covering a stage manager on this show in a couple weeks. I found this play charming. Frankie would be a fun character to play in about 15 years.

[Darius · Rating 2 out of 5]

The whole play seems to have a lurking insidious feel until some bit of magic makes you realize you're not tense anymore. That's a pretty cool effect to build a play on.

[Ani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reír y llorar al mismo tiempo. Es una belleza.

[J Dubyuh]

There’s so much you can do on stage with just two people in a room. This play does not fully exploit those possibilities, but I appreciate its simplicity and modest ambitions.

[Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling

[Davin Broadhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very very good read. I really like single location, two-handed plays. Both of these characters I could see in my head. Great monologues and scenes in here. I love two-hander plays

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have to say, not my favorite McNally play. I didn't particularly care one way or the other for Frankie and I detested Johnny-frankly his character made me very uncomfortable. It's kind of hard to get into a play when it's a two hander and you don't like either one of them.

[Dani Peloquin · Rating 2 out of 5]

All of the action in this piece takes place in Frankie's apartment. The play opens with the couple having sex. It is clear from the beginning that they know each other though not very well. The audience soon learns that they met at the diner where both work. Frankie is a waitress while Johnny is the cook. Johnny is idealistic, looking for true love, and has set his sights on Frankie. Frankie is jaded/grouchy, suspicious and will have none of Johnny's romantic advances. This creates 71 pages of back and forth between the two. The repartee is humorous at its best and laborious at its worst. The two characters are grotesque stereotypes in which Johnny's idealism actually becomes creepy to the point that I questioned it the play was going to reveal that he was an escaped patient from a mental institution. Frankie's abrasiveness is further exaggerated as she huff and puffs around the apartment threatening to leave or kick him out. As they go back and forth, they start to open up to each other and see the potential for happiness within themselves and with each other.

Don't get me wrong, I love Terrence McNally (Love! Valour! Compassion! is one of my favorite plays) but this is just uncharacteristically weak. The dialogue feels stilted and unrealistic, the symbolism barrels in on anvils, and the ending is childishly foolish. Overall, McNally is a classic playwright who deserves great respect and praise. Unfortunately, this is far from his finest work and is worth skipping over on your way to his other pieces.

www.iamliteraryaddicted.blogspot.com

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this play but I didn't love it. I would like to read some of Terrence McNally's other work.

[Gretmcg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite playwright of all time..... Heart-wrenching and raw...... The way love is best.....at its most dramatic moments.

[Colin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

Funny enough, but too rambling. Normally, I adore anything by McNally!

[Andrea Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

As this play starts, we hear Frankie and Johnny having sex in the darkness of her room; the most intimate a person can be with another. The play ends with them sitting side by side on the bed, sun coming up behind them, brushing their teeth; ultimately, and weirdly- more intimate and than the opening.

That's what this McNally ventures us to consider: what is intimacy, connection, love? How do we express it to those we feel it to, or rather, how do we gather the courage to? What are our barriers, and why should we let them stop us?

Quotes:

"JOHNNY. Should I get you something?
FRANKE. Yes! My mother!
JOHNNY. A beer, a Coke, anything?
FRANKIE. A bag to put over my head!"

"FRANKIE. I never would have said that if I knew you better."

"FRANKIE. ...You know, you're right: I do say "I'm sorry" a lot around you. There's something about you that makes me feel like I'm letting you down all the time. Like you have all these expectations of me that I can't fufill..."

"JOHNNY. You don't want to feel it. Two people coming together: sure, it's a little scary but it's pardon-my-French-again fucking wonderful, too. My heart is so full right now. Put your hand here. I sweaer to God, you can feel the lump. Go on, touch it."

"FRANKE. ...So why do you have to go spoil everything?
JOHNNY. I told you I loved you. That makes me unlovable?"

"FRANKIE. "God," I was thinking, "make him want to see me again without him knowing that's what I want.""

"JOHNNY. We may not make it to tomorrow. I might get knifed if you make me go home. You might choke on a chicken bone. Unknown poison gasses could kill us both in our sleep. When it comes to love, life's cheap and it's short, So don't fuck with it and don't pardon my French."

"JOHNNY. It's just words. It's all words. Words, words, words. He said that, too, I think. I read somewhere Shakespeare said just about everything. I'll tell you one thing he didn't say: I love you, Frankie."

"FRANKIE. .... Finally my grandmother game into the room. She had to lean across my bed to close the blinds. Her bosom was so close to my face. She smelled so nice. I pretended I was still sleeping and took the deepest breath of her I could. In that one moment, I think I knew what it was like to be loved. Really loved. I was so safe, so protected! That's better than being pretty. I'll never forget it. The next thing I knew it was morning and I still didn't look like Audrey Hepburn. Now when I lie in bed with the blinds up and the moonlight spilling in, I'm not thinking I want to be somebody else, I just want my Nana back."

"JOHNNY. I want to kill myself sometimes when I think I'm the only person in the world and the part of me that feels that way is trapped inside this body that only bumps into other bodies without ever connecting with the only other person in the world trapped inside them. We gotta connect. We just have to. Or we die."

"FRANKIE. I'm loooking for somebody to take care of me this time.
JOHNNY. We all are."

"JOHNNY. ...We're talking nice and Bingo! the armor goes up.
FRANKIE. What about your armor?
JOHNNY. I don't have any.
FRANKIE. Everybody has armor. They'd be dead if they didn't."

"FRANKIE. Are you keeping some big secret from me?
JOHNNY. It's more like I'm keeping several thousand little ones."

"FRANKIE. Jesus God knows, I want something. If I was put on this planet to haul hamburgers and french fries to pay the rent on an apartment I don't even like in the vague hope that some stranger will not find me wanting enough not to want to marry me then I think my being born is an experience that is going to be equaled in meaninglessness only by my being dead. I got a whole life ahead of me to feel like this? Excuse me, who do I thank for all this? I think the eggs are ready."

"FRANKIE. I'm not holding back.
JOHNNY. Let go. I'll catch you.
FRANKIE. I'm right here."

"FRANKIE. You don't know me.
JOHNNY. Yes, I do. It scares people how much we really know one another, so we pretend we don't. You know me. You've known me all your life. Only now I'm here. Take me. Use me. Try me."

"RADIO ANNOUNCER. ... I'm still thinking about Frankie and Johnny. God, how I wish you two really existed. Maybe I'm crazy but I'd still like to believe in love. Why the hell do you think I work these hours? Anyway, you two moonbeams, whoever, wherever you are, here's an encore."

[Martin Denton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terrence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune is about a 48-year-old short-order cook and a 41-year-old waitress (they work in the same restaurant) who spend the night together. When we meet them, it's already the wee hours of the morning; their first date (dinner and a movie) was sufficiently successful that Frankie invited Johnny home, where they make love for the first time. They're just finishing up, so to speak, when the curtain rises. What we see, more or less in real-time over the course of the two-act play, is what happens next.

What happens next is defined, mostly, by Johnny's determination to make Frankie fall in love with him--not quite at first sight, but certainly at first long look, which not surprisingly makes Frankie a bit uncomfortable. Johnny is so convinced that Frankie is the woman for him that he thinks nothing of proposing marriage (and a family) while the two banter and bicker about their lives, their fears, their wants, their looks, and assorted other topics. Frankie is vulnerable and mistrustful and self-protective, with an armor built up of insecurities and hurts from prior relationships. Johnny is persistent and oddly confident and often downright relentless.

We like them both, of course, which is what sustains the cat-and-mouse plot of the play. Romantically inclined folk will be rooting for them to get together from minute one. As for me, I had trouble becoming invested in the thing: Johnny's behavior borders on the psychotic, and when Frankie threatens, at one point, to call a cop ("I want to stop worrying I'm trapped in my own apartment with a fucking maniac.'), I was totally with her.

McNally's hand is everywhere. The dialogue and situation ring true, as far as it goes, but specific incidents and specific words always feel very written to me. His ordinary Joe/Jane protagonists talk with the articulate relish of Edward Albee characters, considering their words the way connoisseurs order wine. And the arc of their evening--bounded, importantly, by events in a building across the street and by a God-like radio deejay who interrupts the pair at opportune moments--is too precise, too ordered, too dramatically sound to feel organic or genuine. I never believed in this world for a minute: We're not eavesdropping on raw, intimate moments here; we're being beguiled by a fairy tale. The fact that the prince and princess are supposedly working-class schlemiels make it feel comforting, perhaps. But there's nothing real about Frankie, Johnny, or the Clair de Lune where they find themselves.

[Laur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I'd give this between a 3.75 and a 4.

Because I really liked McNally's writing style, but I wasn't sure how much I liked either character but that wasn't because I didn't like how they were written or what they were saying, I think I just didn't like the backstory I was making up about them which you'd do if you watched this show or went to put it on live.

What I did really like was the pace and the commitment and the overall sense of ease in McNally's writing. It felt like it could have been written yesterday and still felt relevant and real and true to life but was at the same time trying to push boundaries of traditional male/female relationships and who initiates long term 'love' and who wants that typically in a relationship in such a fun and comedic way that I found myself wishing I could see how two actors would handle this wonderfully light and yet still full of the real life (soul-crushing at times) life stuff that comes hand in hand with having real human characters interact.
I will definitely be looking to read more of his work.

[Link Oberon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ending of this play is quite beautiful and if it had been more of that true honest feel throughout I might have enjoyed it more. As it was, I found Johnny quite annoying. Likely his persistence is meant to come across as charming, but it’s frustrating and makes me question how reciprocal a relationship with him would really be. He’s constantly on the offence, and while that can be useful for getting what you want he talks over and around Frankie a lot. I question how consensual their relationship is or would end up being. Can this man take no for an answer?
Johnny became more likeable when he opened up about his past wife and kids. I actually felt for him in that moment. I couldn’t tell if he was just making up lots of his history though, since he and Frankie have similar backstories. While that’s possible, it read to me like they could have been accidentally related and so took me even farther away from their romance. Maybe not the ideal thing to try to build a connection on?

[Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take two middle-aged people who work together in a busy, low-paying, sometimes dirty and sweaty business. They don't necessarily fall in love but there's passion (both the good and the bad kind). This would the perfect play for any person who is between 35 and 50 to perform and perfect for anybody over the age of thirty who still believes love is still possible to watch. Now, to start reading some of Terrance McNally's other plays.

[Nancy Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very surprise by this play. I needed to read a play and I pick this one because it had my favorite classical piece as it's title. However, I fell in love with the story. Yes it does have sex and curse words but the message of the play is wholesome. It tells a beautiful story of one person willing to love and the other person sacred to love. I literally could not stop reading. I wish there was a squeal because I really want to see Frankie and Johnny relationship continue.

[Juliette II · Rating 2 out of 5]

This show is completely dated. While I have no doubt the original cast made it worth seeing, the characters are repetitive and not terribly interesting. I could never shake the cringe-worthiness of a woman repeatedly telling a man to leave her apartment and him refusing to do so. Then when she does begin to relent he asks for a blowjob? Crude and disgusting.

[Henry Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10

A beautifully fragile portrait of two honest humans trying to make their way in the world, and to contend with the unwaveringly destructive ideal of love. Tempered with significant humor, but never loses sight of what makes its characters so human. Delights in the ambiguity of its ending, which never fails to make me happy.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked this much better than `Lips Together, Teeth Apart'. McNally seemed to like his characters more - or relate to them better - & while it has some of that same undercurrent of desperation it doesn't have the same anger

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very moving study of loneliness and the need for connection. I loved the movie, with Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino, that was based on it, and it was interesting to read the original to see how this intimate two-character play was opened out into a film.