WELCOME TO THE MOON
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The popular idea is that spring is the season for lovers–but how do you know you’re in love? According to John Patrick Shanley in these six short plays, called collectively Welcome to the Moon, you know it’s the real thing when (1) you leave parties early or, better yet, turn back at the door, as John and Mary do in “The Red Coat,” (2) you blow off your oldest friends, as Walter does in “A Lonely Impulse of Delight” and the woman does in “Let’s Go Out Into the Starry Night,” (3) you obsess for 14 years over your high school sweetheart, as Stephen does in “Welcome to the Moon,” (4) you allow yourself to be killed to save the life of the one you love but never tell him he’s the reason, as Betsy does in “Out West,” (5) you repeatedly try to kill yourself–ineptly, of course–because the one you love doesn’t love you, but you never tell him he’s the reason, as Ronny does in “Welcome to the Moon,” (6) you love someone who loves you but is forever inaccessible, as Walter also does in “A Lonely Impulse of Delight,” and (7) you cry–a lot, as do all of the above in all of the above.
If some of these actions appear rather risky, have no fear–Love Will Conquer All the minute you and the object of your affection/obsession look at the moon and/or stars, kiss, cry, and confess your love. Oh, yes–and in five out of seven instances, the love object will turn out to love you too, if only for a moment. After all, isn’t it more romantic to yearn for someone than to consummate a relationship (the reason fairy tales always end when the lovers are reunited)? And isn’t dying for a pure love, uncorrupted by carnal desire, the most romantic thing one can do?
