Pho Donut
This play began with my occasional observation of a group of seniors who met each
morning in front of a local donut shop. None of the characters in the play is based
exactly on any actual persons. The idea got under my skin because for a while an
anthropologist whom I knew was spending time with these folks every day. What was
this scholar -- even though he was on medical disability -- doing with a group of
people who seemed to talk nonstop about politics, sports, local situations, and
nothing at all? The answer I invented for myself was that he was observing tribal
behavior just as he had in New Guinea years before and that he would one-day write
an article or book on the subject. This led to the quasi-scientific approach that
Hughie takes in his monologs. Hughie is based on this man and on a man who
seems to exhibit catatonic behavior. There was a Betty, but I don't see her at the
donut shop these days. The rest of the characters are purely fictitious. The notion
that the donut shop would also serve pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) gave rise to the
characters of Lionel and Vee-Ann; the little scene between them in the middle of the
night is one of my favorites. Pho and donuts seem to be the yin and the yang of
dietary habits, and you can make of that what you will.
To the play.