SYNOPSIS: “Black Flamingos” is a darkly funny, poetic drama. In the first act, a feral male hitchhiker character is picked up on the road by a soulful woman on a mission of revenge against deity who has forsaken her, but she delays her mission by stopping in the desert to seek out a minor demon.
However, when the second act begins, the same actors play doppelgangers – a moral Everyman who has been buffeted by fate – and is now is further tormented by a girl-woman and her demon “lover” as he is held prisoner.
At the very end of the play, there is a spiritual melding of the two sets of characters, as both the play and the characters travel a road from fury to forgiveness.
Smith & Kraus published one other monologues from the play for their Audition Arsenal series. (Note that both monologues were slightly shortened and edited for publication.) An early version of the play received an Equity reading at the Yale Repertory Theatre with a cast that included (now Tony and Oscar nominated) actress Amy Ryan and was directed by Obie Award winner Evan Yionoulis. This early version was also a New Dramatists Weissberger Award semi-finalist and it also won an award and was read at the Brick Playhouse in Philadelphia. More recently, it had 3 public readings in the Los Angeles area. Bridget Flanery, Michael Matthys, Adam J. Smith after reading of "Black Flamingos" at A.N.M.T. in North Hollywood, CA
And below is the postcard for the reading of an earlier version of the play at the Abbot Kinny Gallery. This reading was produced by Walt Klappert and starred Bridget Flanery, Graham Shiels and Alex Wells.
