RUBY AND MILLIE & THE OLD CHEMICAL PLANT
A comedy/drama
by Tara Meddaugh
Sisters, Ruby and Millie have always been extremely close—from Millie caring for Ruby during the strain of WW2, to Ruby watching out for Millie’s bad knees. Neither one can imagine life without the other by her side. But now they struggle with decisions that may, for the first time in 60+ years, take them far away from each other.
DETAILS
Genre: Drama/Comedy/Dramedy
Cast: 2 female
Age range: 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s
Set: Community garden
Running time: 10-15 minutes
Great for: plays with historical significance, all-female cast, a play with a cast of mature/senior female actors, victory gardens, duo interpt, competitions, festivals, classes,
A NOTE ABOUT THE PIECE:
Ruby and Millie & The Old Chemical Plant was originally written and performed as part of the full-length play, The Victory Garden Plays. The Victory Garden Plays is a 7-piece collection of short individual plays encompassing journeys of individuals on the American home front during WW2.
The opening movement of The Victory Garden Plays portrays sisters, Ruby and Millie, as a child and teenager, struggling to maintain their rooftop garden, while their father is a prisoner of war overseas. That play can be found here as RUBY AND MILLIE AND THE DYING CUCUMBERS.
In the 4th movement, Frank and Jerry & The Chemical Plant, we experience the story of a wealthy chemical plant owner whose factory is requisitioned by the government and used for war purposes. In an effort to create his own meaningful legacy during war times, the plant owner decides to offer up some of his land to be used by the community for growing fruits and vegetables.
Five decades later, the chemical plant is gone, but the allotment of a community garden, in that space, still remains. And here, in Ruby and Millie & The Old Chemical Plant, now in their 60s, we meet Ruby and Millie again, fifty years after their rooftop garden. This is the final piece from The Victory Garden Plays. It may also stand alone as its own complete short play.
If you would like more information about the entire play, The Victory Garden Plays, please click here.
CLICK for a free excerpt to Ruby and Millie & The Old Chemical Plant
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If you would like more information about the entire play, The Victory Garden Plays, please click here or purchase the entire digital copy of the play below:
WCT Production of The Victory Garden Plays directed by Nathan Flower. Below is the movement, Ruby and Millie & The Old Chemical Plant starring Missy Flower and Anne Glickman. Costume design by Georgia Evans. Photos by Gregory Perry Photography.
