Bernard Mendillo

Mates at Last Bernard Mendillo

MATES AT LAST is the final play of my MATES TRILOGY. Each play stands alone - but, collectively, they follow the two main characters' lives for six consecutive hours - from "seven past seven" until "seven past one" of a very fateful day. The three plays explore the meaning of friendship, courage and success. The other plays are MATES (winner of the Wykeham Rise nationwide playwrighting contest and produced off-off-Broadway at Lolly's Folly in 1973; and again at the Melfi Repertory in Binghamton, NY, in 1993); and MATES IN PARADISE (produced at the Melfi Repertory in Binghamton, NY, in 1993; and then produced, twice, at the 450-seat Orpheum Repertory Company in Foxborough, MA, in 1995). MATES AT LAST was produced at the Melfi in September of 1995. Synopsis: MATES AT LAST is a comedy about how two men discover the true meaning of success. The play begins with Whittler and Evans packing their bags. They are about to go out into the real world. But - two new female patients arrive to occupy the room. The men linger to "show them the ropes" - and because they find themselves attracted to the women. The action of the play revolves around success. Whittler relates how he's been miserable at love. Evans adds two stories of incredible failure - at operating a lemonade stand and at volunteering at an orphanage. The future looks bleak. But the men begin to rally. And the women begin to see something of value in them. Whittler tells of how he learned to make coffee - at his father's deathbed. And suddenly - they learn that success isn't measured "in stacks of money" but, rather, "in heartbeats." The men decided to return in two weeks - to "update" the women about their adventures on the outside. And, perhaps, to pursue the beginning of a relationship. And - at long, long last - Whittler and Evans set out on the greatest adventure of all: life.