The action takes place in an apartment building in Chelsea, a trendy enclave of lower Manhattan. As the play begins, a memorial service is in progress, honoring the memory of the landlady, Mrs. Birchmire. Her tenants, seven gay men, recall their beloved friend through a series of lighthearted vignettes. The characters come from the audience and walk to a podium center stage and, as they remember their happiest times with Mrs. Birchmire, they move from the podium and into the memory scene.

The scenes in this two-act comedy are snapshots frozen in time about a strong-willed woman who inspired her tenants to be themselves. They present a group of individuals who are open and affirming, and who treasure and value their experiences with her. Their relationships become enhanced and accentuated. Their words become honest and revealing. Their lives become illuminated, lightened, and meaningful in a play that promotes the luminous values of understanding, concern, and friendship.

Paul M. Kelly holds a doctorate in education from Fordham University. An associate member of the Dramatists Guild of America, he has had numerous productions of his plays developed through The Village Playwrights. Dr. Kelly is a registrar and teaches English at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York.

EDWIN
Been married three times, huh?

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
Well, twice--I don't always count the first one.

EDWIN
Why?

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
I suppose I should...he was very generous. He was in politics ...a State Senator.

EDWIN
Yeah? What happened to him?

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
Died at the church. I was a bride and a widow all in the same day.

EDWIN
Wow!

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
White fade to black.

EDWIN
Ooh.

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
I was twenty-five and he was...I forget now...but right after we exchanged vows...right after he said I do--he keeled over ...dead of a heart attack.

EDWIN
Well, that’s not good.

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
I'll never forget it. I was in a state of shock.

EDWIN
I'm sure you were.

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
All those people--and no one even bothered to pick up his walker.

EDWIN
The guy was on a walker?

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
I had to do it myself. They just sat there with their mouths wide-open. The goddamn thing landed at the bottom of the altar steps. It was a horrible tragedy.

EDWIN
It sounds it.

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
And he was such a sweetheart.

EDWIN
It’s probably better off he died at the church.

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
That's awful! How can you say that?

EDWIN
You woulda been accused of murder.

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
Why?

EDWIN
The honeymoon woulda killed him.

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
Would not.

EDWIN
You woulda sexed him to death.

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
I would not.

EDWIN
You woulda made the papers--the Daily News headline --"Cute Young Thing Triggers Massive Coronary: State Senator Came and Went at the Same Time."

MRS. BIRCHMIRE
Stop...that's terrible! It wouldn't have been like that at all! It was pre-Viagra. There wasn't gonna be any sex!

EDWIN
Sure.