Theatrefolk Featured Play – The Hope and Heartache Diner by Lindsay Price

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight.  Ready for an amazing character piece with parts for everyone? Check out The Hope and Heartache Diner by Lindsay Price – available in full-length and one-act versions.

Diners are a special place. You can get your coffee, fall in love, and find light when the world is dark. Duke’s is a family business – four generations strong.

Felix wants one last hurrah before leaving for college. She’s doing the full run – open to close – just like her grandpa did when he was a teenager. But why? Everyone knows Felix can barely wipe tables. Why is she trying so hard to connect? And what happens when Felix’s parents announce they’re selling the diner?

Let’s hear from the author!

1. Why did you write this play?
I wanted to write a play about a character about to face great change in a place that never changes. The best diners seems to be stuck in stasis, which is why I think people gravitate to them. They don’t change. They are familiar. They are home. They are filled with characters (and a ghost or two), which is always a great place to start a play.

2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences.
You can’t escape change, even in a place that never changes.

3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play?
The diner is visualized in an “Our Town” fashion. It’s not kitchen sink realism. It’s a story that moves from past to present (with a ghost or two), so to have that open space, fragments, gauzy look to it is best.

4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be?
Focus on the family. This is a family that loves each other, even if they don’t know how to express it. And there are many layers of family from the diner regulars, to Felix’s family, to the strays that find their way into the diner’s glow. It’s all about family.

5. Why is this play great for student performers?
This is a great play to deepen character development skills. These characters exist fully as much outside the pages of the play as in, so it’s important to do your research.