[Lights up]
Bruce Hall: Paul Gude moved to Seattle in May of 1999 with a simple dream: To write the definitive American one-act stage play, and perform it at Annex Theatre’s Spin the Bottle.
Only one thing stood in his way. The self-proclaimed gatekeeper of Seattle Late Night Fringe Theatre: Benjamin Laurance. Many careers have been born by Ben’s endorsement. Even more have been obliterated by a stroke of his mighty pen.
But as we all know, beneath Ben’s gruff exterior is a heart of gold. Soon, the two became good friends. When Paul asked Ben for permission to adapt one of Ben’s own works and perform it at Spin the Bottle, Ben characteristically replied, “Kid, if you’re gonna rip my rotten soul off a piece of paper and expect folks to eat it, I’m the son of a bitch that’s gonna make the gravy!”
Ladies and Gentlemen, please enjoy the Annex Theatre’s world premier of Ben Laurance and Paul Gude’s “Nice Guys and Fast Women.”
[Lights out]
[Lights up]
[Paul and Ben stand center, wearing over-alls and cowboy hats. They each hold a piece of hay in their mouths. There is a long pause.]
Paul: We don’t talk anymore.
[Long pause]
Ben: Yup.
[An even longer pause. Uncomfortably long. After awhile, the lights eventually dim.]
[Lights out]
“Next were Paul Goudy and Ben Laurence (sic) doing a skit called Nice Guys and Fast Women. It had nothing to do with either.”
-Joe Boling, TPS Online
