Nighthawks

Nighthawks glimpses behind the canvas of one of America's most iconic contemporary paintings, bringing to life the diner dwellers of Edward Hooper's 1942 work in this comedy-laced American tragedy of the same name

Restaurant owner and fading flower, Mae, regular customer Sam, and Mae's husband/waiter, Quig, ponder the identity of the diner's new regular ...

... the mysterious man whose back is portrayed in the famous artwork

What is he hiding?

And why won't he speak?

Or is he - as Mae suspects - an artist capturing their image?

As the familiar two-dimensional world of Hopper's painting expands on the stage, it soon becomes clear that unpaid modeling fees are the least of their worries

Their seemingly mundane existence blossoms into a minefield of complications...

Mae's niece is falling into love

Her restaurant is falling into debt

And her beef may be on the lamb

The once simple tableau develops into an exploration of human nature that questions the role of the artist, the audience and the deceptively simple act of observation

Nighthawks won Steinberg the NEA/TCG Award for Playwriting and a one-year residency with South Coast Repertory

TO READ THE OPENING SCENES, click here