Overview
In THE BIG SLAM we follow Orrin, a shy young student of history, who gets caught up in the '90's incarnation of the self-help movement via his friend Russell, a handsome seducer in whose shadow Orrin has always lived. Russell is on a quest for success—in every area of life: financial, sexual, emotional and spiritual. Orrin is happy to go along with Russell's quest, if it means keeping the company of his charismatic friend. But one night they meet Stephanie, a sexy, ruthless young lawyer recently fired for ethical lapses. She and Russell make an immediate sexual connection and ditch third wheel Orrin. When they emerge from Stephanie's bedroom months later, it turns out that in addition to becoming obsessed with each other, Russell and Stephanie have become devoted to a new program for financial aid and spiritual success called Strategies for Power—a home seminar based on a dynamic late-night infomercial. Russell and Stephanie have been studying and training relentlessly in its ways. They're to go and apply it to life now. And—as Orrin learns later—they want him to bankroll their enterprise with his life's savings. Though skeptical at first, Orrin finally agrees when Stephanie works her rhetorical and sensual charms on him. From there it's a strange stew of ambition, slippery language, love, and sex, as Orrin tries to make sense of his newfound world in terms of the thing he knows best: history.Synopsis
In THE BIG SLAM we follow Orrin, a shy young student of history, who gets caught up in the '90's incarnation of the self-help movement via his friend Russell, a handsome seducer in whose shadow Orrin has always lived. Russell is on a quest for success in every area of life: financial, sexual, emotional and spiritual. Orrin is happy to go along with Russell's quest, if it means keeping the company of his charismatic friend. But one night they meet Stephanie, a sexy, ruthless young lawyer recently fired for ethical lapses. She and Russell make an immediate sexual connection and ditch third wheel Orrin. When they emerge from Stephanie's bedroom months later, it turns out that in addition to becoming obsessed with each other, Russell and Stephanie have become devoted to a new program for financial aid and spiritual success called Strategies for Power a home seminar based on a dynamic late-night infomercial. Russell and Stephanie have been studying and training relentlessly in its ways. They're to go and apply it to life now. And as Orrin learns later they want him to bankroll their enterprise with his life's savings. Though skeptical at first, Orrin finally agrees when Stephanie works her rhetorical and sensual charms on him. From there it's a strange stew of ambition, slippery language, love, and sex, as Orrin tries to make sense of his newfound world in terms of the thing he knows best: history.
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
A modern urban comedy that teems with bright comedy, acute social observation, and an underlying literary glow...The best new play of the year...A riveting look at a quartet of strivers seeking instant wealth.