Yola’s 90th Birthday Party ~ 2 Acts ~ Cast: 6 (3F, 3M)
SYNOPSIS
Yola and Elvira Morelli, spinster sisters, recently moved from their home of 80-plus years to a neighborhood senior citizen apartment complex in Providence, RI. They find other of their lifelong friends have also moved from their homes into the same complex.
Therelationship between the sisters can best be described as love-hate. Yola barks orders and has grown comfortable over the years making hateful comments to Elvira. Elvira, on the other hand, so desperately seeks Yola’s sisterly love.
In three days, Yola will turn 90 years old and her party preparations are in full swing. Nephews, Gary and Joey Morelli, assist in these preparations as does Mary Campanella, a longtime friend and their neighbor at the senior citizen apartment complex. Brian McCoy, the maintenance man, also pitches in to help.
Over the years, Brian has developed quite a profitable scheme by borrowing money regularly from the senior citizen female residents of the complex. Although he always promises to pay the money back, he never does. As a matter of fact, some of the residents he has borrowed money from are found to have died suspiciously.
With the party preparations nearly finished, Brian stops by to complete one final task. While there, he shakes down the Morelli sisters for more money. This proves to be a wrong move for Brian as Elvira loses control and ends his money scam (and seemingly his life) when she whacks him across his head with a paperweight birthday gift.
After the party, during the cleanup, Mary has to use the bathroom. Yola fearing that Mary will discover Brian’s body that Elvira had hidden in their bathtub attempts to discourage her from using their bathroom. Mary has to use it. Both sisters stand just outside the bathroom door fearing the worse: Mary will peek behind the shower curtain into the bathtub and see Brian’s lifeless body. 90 year old Yola whisperingly laments: “Do you have any idea what they do to girls like us in prison? I’m too old to be anyone’s bitch, Elvira.”
Mary finally leaves the bathroom and all appears normal. Normal until Brian, with blood dripping from his paperweight wound, staggers out of the bathroom. This is too much for Mary to take.
The Morelli sisters realize that they must now pay hush money to Brian in order that he not report them to the police for attempting to murder him.
In a bizarre turn of events, Elvira – always considered intellectually inferior to Yola –
A stroke of genius ends Brian’s extortion activities.
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