Days of Our Nights
We're in Television City where we are watching the live taping of "Days of Our Nights." The set of "Days" is a New Year's Eve party on the Buckcannon yacht and the drama begins when Asa Buckcannon is poisoned from drinking his champagne toast. Who is the murderer? Could it be the sickly sweet Marlena, the conniving Erica, or even the long-lost Greta who acts like a wild animal? Or could it be Beau, who's always wanted to run the Buckcannon Industries but was too inept, or Stefano, a rich, cunning businessman? And how do Dr. Von Quackenhiemer, a strange German scientist, and Palumbo, an idiotic detective, fit in? Soon there are more murders; one character returns from the dead with a new head; and the yacht becomes out of control heading out to the open sea with hidden toxic plug-in air fresheners on board! Will the chaos -- and laughter -- ever end? This play is a perfect choice for a full evening of soap opera fun!
Productions
Behind The Scenes
PLAYWRIGHT DANIEL O'DONNELL TALKS ABOUT
"DAYS OF OUR NIGHTS"
Q: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS PLAY?
A: After years of teasing my family about their interest in soaps and mocking the dialogue as I pass through the room, I felt I had no choice but to put a humorous spin on it in the form of a play.
Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PART OR LINE IN THE PLAY? WHY?
A: Choosing a favorite part of this play is difficult because I love all the characters and their quirks. However, when Ben's wife, Maria, explains to the others how she lost her head in a freak ice-skating accident, fell into a fjord, was frozen then cut out of the ice, sold, traded, and finally ended up in a Swiss hospital (where they just happened to be working on head reattachments and they just happened to have a donor head) - well, need I say more?
Q: WHERE DO THE CHARACTERS COME FROM? ARE THEY BASED ON PEOPLE YOU KNOW?
A: The characters are a compilation of soap characters that have graced our afternoon TV sets for more than fifty years. It was fun and easy to develop their characters because they are so over-the-top. This play, more than any of my other plays, wrote itself because of the wealth of material presented by network soap operas.
Q: WHAT DID YOU TRY TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS PLAY?
A: I wanted this play to bring laughter to the audience as they identify with characters they know so well.
Q: ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SAY ABOUT IT?
A: Oh yeah. It is very funny!