MR. PETERS' CONNECTIONS

by Miller, Arthur

Harry Peters walks into an old club, greeting what may be an old friend or a long lost brother. The club brings back memories, or creates them, and even though he is not sure which, he is there for a reason: to find out something about himself. He often asks, “What is the subject?” as if trying to prompt the answer to life-long questions out of the walls and dusty chairs. A piano plays old music. A middle-aged bag lady sits in the back and occasionally makes remarks. He is visited by his wife, or is it? He is visited by a young couple, the woman reminding him of a lustful past. He is visited by another couple who remind him of nothing until the young girl talks to him as his daughter would. Through it all, a trip to the powder room by the other characters creates a sensation of peace, but Harry won’t go there - doesn’t want to. Wants to avoid it. Is the powder room heaven after the nightclub purgatory? Is Harry struggling to stay in the real world and is this play a dream as he fights for his life? Is his search for a “subject” the same as our search for meaning in our lives?