Act 1

Act 1 begins in May 1968 in Charlie's childhood home after the funeral of his adoptive father, whom he calls Da. As he is sorting through his father's things, throwing many of them in the fire, his ch11dhood mend Oliver, having missed the funeral, comes by to offer condolences. After Oliver leaves, the figure of Da enters as a ghost. Charlie's mother, now dead, also enters in a memory scene. In this memory, Charlie, who is seventeen and still unemployed, having just finished school SIX months earlier, is with his parents, who are awaiting a man called Drumm. They are hoping Drumm will offer Charlie a job. When Drumm arrives, Charlie is embarrassed by his father's displays of ignorance and his crude language and by his mother's explanation of his adoption. In embarrassment, Charlie leaves the house, but Drumm follows him outside and, as the two walk, he...