I'm Not Rappaport 1985 - Articles Page 16.2

Our fall shaw is the 1986 Tony Award winning play by Herb Gardner. The play takes place in 1982 under a bridge in New York's Central Park. Two octogenarians, one white one black, meet regularly determined to fight off all attempts to put them out to pasture. Nat is a cantankerous Communist whose daughter is urging him into the old folk's home. Midge, an apartment superintendent, spends his days in the park hiding in the past and from his disgruntled tenants. The playwright was inspired while writing in Central Park. He saw two animated old men, one black and one white, alternating between sitting quietly and yelling at each other. Their strange friendship intrigued Gardner and he used it as the basis for the main characters, Nat and Midge. I’m Not Rappaport explores the realities of aging, surviving in an urban jungle, and finding a safe place in the world.