Mark G Ruhala

Nirvana Joe's: a Heavenly Place to Eat and Live Mark G Ruhala

Publisher Marketing: Nirvana Joe's - A New Play Nirvana Joe's is a one act play that convincingly portrays the open mindedness of youth to subvert an attempted rape while turning it into a relationship of love; a three way relationship. From the opening scene of two college freshman females surprisingly enjoying a night of lusty sexual fun, to the end of that same scene in which they are attacked by a rapist (another freshman but male) who breaks into their room, it is clear that this play will take a unique journey. The four scenes of the hour long play follow this relationship in freshman, sophomore, and junior years, while the fourth scene is their 10th anniversary eight years later. Nirvana Joe's explores relevant issues of today's campus life of university students, including the value of a college education itself in today's world, to more social issues like sexual mores, interpersonal relationships, and the hidden, untold costs of deceitful actions that we all commit without much awareness - what we might call "little white lies." While these three characters take an unconventional path, they land definitely as part of the conventional yuppie, upper middle class of America. This dichotomy is rife with persuasive realities that illustrate the possibility of this kind of happy menage-a-trois relationship in our world where money matters. The fact that it might end up a larger, happier relationship is almost too much to bear. But at Nirvana Joe's strange things happen.