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Cast in order of appearance:
Alex Jamison – (30-45) An engineer; successful, self-centered and cocky. In his own mind he’s God’s gift to women.
Bellhop – (20’s) An obnoxious, smart-mouth resort employee.
Lynn Morrison – (25-35) Lynn is attractive, bright, sensitive, but unsure of herself when it comes to relationships. She is the current “other woman” in Alex’s life.
Mike Scott – (45+) A personable middle-aged man who makes a good living writing gothic romance paperbacks under the pen name, Mildred Hearn. He’s intelligent, has a quick wit, and a good sense of humor. (When the play was written, this was the dinner theatre “star” role.)
Cynthia Jamison – (28-40) Alex’s wife. A very sweet, if not overly attractive or bright woman – she could stand to lose a few pounds and get a nose job. She is totally devoted to her husband and her children, and is incredibly naive.
Evelyn Scott – (40+) Mike’s wife. A successful clinical psychologist. Smart, attractive; a good match for Mike.
Synopsis
Alex Jamison has slipped away for an amorous weekend at a ski resort outside Denver with his current playmate, Lynn Morrison. Lynn travels up separately, and shortly after she arrives their little tryst is interrupted by Mike Scott, a writer up doing research for a book. Due to a mix up with the reservations, Alex and Lynn are scheduled to share their accommodations with Mike and his wife, Evelyn, who is due up later that weekend. Alex is, of course, not amused.
The next morning the situation becomes more complicated when Cynthia Jamison arrives while Alex is out renting ski equipment for Lynn. Mike tries to cover for them – telling Cynthia that Lynn is his new bride. He almost has Cynthia convinced to go home when Alex returns, and things get even more complicated. Evelyn’s arrival complicates matters even more and it takes an hilarious charade to resolve the situation.
It’s much ado about very little – but it is fun.
One thing – this play was written before the introduction of cellular phones. I looked at the possibility of updating it, but a good bit of the comedy revolves around the telephone, so I kept it. Just treat it as a period piece, and have fun.
Time
Recent, but before the advent of cellular phones. The action takes place over one weekend, starting on Friday evening and ending on Sunday morning.
The Setting
The Last Resort takes place in the living/dining room of a one bedroom suite in a comfortable but not luxurious ski resort motel somewhere outside Denver. Stage right is the entrance to the suite, which comes in from an exterior walkway. Upstage of the front door is a rack for holding skis, and downstage of the door is a stool or chair for sitting to take off boots. Stage left is the door to the bedroom. Upstage is a swinging door that goes to a kitchen. There is a sitting area with a sofa bed and one or two overstuffed chairs stage right. An afghan is laying over the back of the sofa. Stage left there is a dinette; and further left, against the wall is a sideboard of some kind that functions as a bar. Against the upstage wall, approximately centerstage, there is a writing desk with a lamp and the telephone. The desk has a couple of drawers at least. Some inexpensive framed prints are on the walls.
The Last Resort is written so that set, costumes, and props can all be effectively produced on a limited budget.
Author’s Note: The Last Resort has a running time of approximately ninety-five (95) minutes, plus intermission(s). It is structured to be performed in either two acts (50-45 minutes) or three acts (35-30-30 minutes), as desired by the theatre.
Script
For a complete reading copy, rights and royalty information, or other questions, please contact us through the information on the What’s New page.
“The Last Resort” photographs on the website are from the production by The Dean Goss Dinner Theatre in Houston, Texas. Click any photo for a full-size version.