The Lyons at Players by the Sea

Waiting at her husband’s bedside, Rita Lyons flips
through glossy magazines, planning to redecorate as soon as he’s dead. Ben Lyons is not going quietly. “I’m dying,
Rita,” he rages. “I know, dear,” she replies, “Try to look on the positive side.” Their grown children visit the
hospital and are stunned to discover that their father on his deathbed; their parents have neglected to mention that little detail. (“Why burden you? You have your own problems.”) Lisa, a recovering alcoholic, is driven from the room within minutes by her mother’s relentless
belittling, in search of the comfort of a drink. Curtis seems better-balanced, until we discover that the long-term boyfriend that he’s chatting to on the phone is entirely fictitious. Yes, there’s no lonelier place than the bosom of your own family, even — or especially — in times of crisis. A savagely funny exploration of the ways we find to torment and distance those we’re supposed to love.