Women of Manhattan.

THE STORY: Rhonda, Judy and Billie are having dinner, over which they lament the fact that, while their careers are flourishing, their emotional lives are a wreck. Rhonda has just broken up with her boyfriend (but is unable to jettison the oversized sneakers still sitting in the corner of her room); Billie, happily married, frets that she and her husband are stuck in their honeymoon phase; and Judy despairs of ever meeting an attractive man who isn't gay. But then, in a series of sharply written, subtly revealing scenes, their situations change. Billie fixes up Judy with her ex-boyfriend, a debonair black executive who proves to be more than an adequate lover; Billie's husband gives her a black eye (which delights her because it finally proves that the honeymoon is over!); and Rhonda, still alone, summons up the courage to dispose of her boyfriend's sneakers. As the play ends, the three are hopeful about better times ahead but also painfully aware that the brittle, competitive Manhattan lifestyle disappoints as quickly as it rewards.John Patrick Shanley is the author of 'Women of Manhattan.' with ISBN 9780822212744 and ISBN 0822212749.