10 Ladies of the Club

Episode Notes: "Ladies of the Club" by Rick Regan

This short play, "Ladies of the Club", by Rick Regan, presents an intimate and revealing conversation between two lifelong friends that peels back the layers of suburban life to expose the loneliness, grief, and resilience underneath.

The story unfolds on a summer evening in Joanne's comfortable suburban home as she prepares for a book club meeting. Her friend Kelly is the first and, as it turns out, only guest to arrive. What starts as a casual catch-up about Kelly's work stress and her daughter Arlene's recent pregnancy scare soon deepens into a series of raw and honest confessions.

The two women discuss Kelly's separation from her husband Steve, an artist she still financially supports , and Joanne's concern for her 25-year-old son, Tommy, who has been withdrawn since the death of his father, Neil. The conversation takes a poignant turn when Joanne reveals the heartbreaking truth of Neil's final days and the profound loneliness that now fills her life. The evening culminates in a startling discovery: Joanne has prepared a full Thanksgiving dinner in August a quiet, desperate attempt to recreate a holiday she missed while grieving her husband's death the previous November. The play closes on a touching moment of friendship as Kelly comforts her heartbroken friend.

Key Themes

• Loneliness and Grief: The central theme is Joanne's overwhelming sense of loss and isolation after her husband's death. She feels her large house is just an empty "warehouse" and that she is "slowly...decaying". Her decision to cook a Thanksgiving meal out of season is a powerful symbol of her attempt to reclaim a sense of family and normalcy that has been lost.
  
  
• Female Friendship and Support: The entire play is built on the intimate dialogue between Joanne and Kelly. They share the deepest parts of their lives, from marital problems to difficult confessions about a spouse's death. The play ends with a simple, powerful act of support, showcasing friendship as a vital lifeline.
• The Burdens of Women: Both characters carry significant emotional and practical burdens. Kelly juggles a high-stress job, her daughter's problems, and an impending divorce from a man she feels she had to mother. Joanne carried the weight of her husband Neil's long illness and decline, which left her feeling frantic and alone even before he passed away.
• Appearance vs. Reality: The setting is a "comfortable suburban home", which suggests a peaceful, orderly life. However, the conversation reveals immense turmoil beneath the surface. Joanne sees Kelly as a gorgeous woman who has it easy, but Kelly's life is filled with stress and disappointment. The book chosen for the club, Slaughterhouse-Five, reflects this theme, with Joanne noting its dark, comic genius in finding humor and acceptance in tragedy, something Kelly finds too heavy for a summer read.

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LADIES OF THE CLUB
by
Rick Regan
8/21/2025(MORE)
INT. JOANNE’S LIVING ROOM - EVENING
Joanne, 54, lives in a comfortable suburban home. She
lives alone. The room is prepared for casual company.
Joanne sits, alone, reading.
The doorbell rings and Joanne gets up.
KELLY
(entering)
Halloo! Anybody home? I brought
wine!
JOANNE
Hey, Kel! Thanks for coming. You
can put that in the kitchen and
pour yourself one.
KELLY
Got it.
Kelly goes into the kitchen and emerges with a glass of
sparkling rose wine.
JOANNE
Come. Sit. What have you been up
to?
KELLY
Ugh! It’s been SO crazy. I feel
like my brain is on fire!
JOANNE
Why? Why?
KELLY
We’re planning a new launch coming
up, at work, for a big trade-show
in Las Vegas. I feel like I’m
herding cats trying to keep it on
track.
JOANNE
Because of your boss?
KELLY
No! He’s running around trying to
secure funding for the next round,
but the market has just been
frozen.
2.
So...I’m stuck running the show,
trying to get programmers to show
up to meetings, and run the whole
thing on a shoe-string.
JOANNE
Wow, that’s stressful. Are you OK?
KELLY
I’m fine, but Arlene went into the
hospital on Wednesday and I
haven’t been able to go up and see
her.
JOANNE
Arlene? What happened? Was she in
an accident?
KELLY
She had a pregnancy scare.
JOANNE
So she went to the hospital?
KELLY
No. Then she had a panic
attack...so then she went to the
hospital.
JOANNE
Is she alright? Is she...?
KELLY
No, but get this. She is in the
emergency room, huffing and
sweating with panic, and then she
gets her period.
JOANNE
Oh my!
KELLY
Oh yes! So then she says she
realizes she’s not pregnant but
now she’s bleeding.
JOANNE
I bet that got everyone’s
attention!
(MORE)
3.
KELLY
Yup! So they put her in a bed and
the nurses realize right away what
is happening, of course, but they
can see she is in distress. By the
time the doctor, a woman, gets to
see her, Arlene’s a mess and the
lady-doctor gives her an IV drip
with fluids and a sedative. They
sent her up to a room to get her
calmed down.
JOANNE
And you haven’t been up to see
her?
KELLY
I’ve been swamped! I can’t believe
this summer is flying by. Arlene
is back at school already, and
she’s having her usual freak outs,
but I’m drowning.
JOANNE
And...there’s a boy...
KELLY
Well, that was an interesting
turn. Seeing as how she has been
living like a nun for the last two
years, with social anxiety and
body image issues. So, yeah, kind
of a shock that she’d have a
scare. We’ve got to have the talk
about protecting herself.
JOANNE
Boys...
KELLY
I know, right! Like, son, ‘wrap it
up!’
JOANNE
I ask Tommy how it’s going, in the
romance department. He doesn’t
give me the time of day.
KELLY
Tommy? But he’s...
JOANNE
Twenty-five! But does he tell his
mother anything? No.
(MORE)
4.
But, you know, he used to talk to
Neil. I think when Neil died, it
was just really hard on Tommy.
It’s like the shock of realizing
that the world isn’t fair. And
that it goes by so fast.
KELLY
Did he ever have any romantic
interests? Girls...or boys?
JOANNE
There were always nice girls
around. And some of them were
literally throwing themselves at
him. Literally. But he never took
the bait.
KELLY
Is he happy?
JOANNE
Are you?
KELLY
Me? I’m too busy to be happy. I’ll
worry about being happy when I
retire.
JOANNE
Retire? When’s that? I haven’t
heard you talk about retirement
before.
KELLY
Oh, you know. A while from now.
Got to put in a few more years.
It’s the same for everybody.
Money, insurance, connections.
JOANNE
I have a hard time believing that
you’d have any trouble keeping an
active social calendar.
KELLY
No time for that!
JOANNE
When you and Steve separated, why
I knew that every divorced banker,
lawyer and real estate agent in
town would beat a path to your
door. You’re gorgeous!
5.
I wish I was as beautiful as you,
even for one day. Just to see what
it would be like. Walk down the
street and traffic stops! People
stare, and smile! Men open doors
and say, “After you!” because they
want to look at your ass. Oh, in
my dreams!
KELLY
Oh, Jo. I wish my mother would
have said anything like that, just
once. But you know what she said?
JOANNE
I bet I do...
KELLY
She said, “Kelly, keep your skirt
straight, your hair combed and
your face clean. A smile will get
you along in the world, but don’t
count on it.”
JOANNE
The old, ‘look out for yourself’
speech. Wouldn’t you say the same
thing to Arlene? I mean, when you
and Steve split, it just showed
how important it is for a woman to
be independent.
KELLY
Did it? Really? Or was it
transparent that we were just
living a lie for a decade, or
more? I mean, I liked Steve but I
don’t really think he ever really
liked me, I mean, liked-me. You
know what I mean?
JOANNE
Steve likes you! Of course he
does.
KELLY
He just needed another mother
figure in his life. And a father
figure! ‘Make the bacon, AND cook
the bacon!’
JOANNE
Was it that bad?
(MORE)
6.
KELLY
He just would never grow up. I
enabled him, I know that. I know
that. If I had put more boundaries
on us, our relationship, our life,
then he would have straightened up
and gone to work. But I let him
slide, and he did.
JOANNE
What’s he doing now? Is he
working?
KELLY
He got an apartment, which I pay
for! And he’s looking for work
but, I mean, I get it. I married
an artist. He lives like an
artist. He paints. He draws.
JOANNE
Does he show? Does he have a
gallery?
KELLY
I ask him all the time! I think
his work is really good. There are
a hundred agencies that could use
his talents. But he doesn’t want
to ‘sell out’ and do commercial
work. I tell him, Andy Warhol did
commissions for t-shirts! Screen
printed.
JOANNE
So what happens next?
KELLY
When the settlement is final,
I...we split the assets, and I cut
him off. Sink or swim, baby!
JOANNE
I could never have done that. I
don’t have the strength that you
do. I would never have left Neil.
KELLY
In sickness and in health...
JOANNE
It was a long, sad slide. Well,
you know.
7.
You saw me all those years,
looking more and more frantic as
his mind slipped further and
further away. And, you know, that
was the thing. I never left him.
And he didn’t leave me, but he
did, really. He left me. Not that
he could control it. He just
didn’t know who I was anymore.
KELLY
How did you keep going? I mean,
doesn’t part of you just want to
break free?
JOANNE
That was the hardest part. I
wanted to leave. His sister wanted
me to have him committed but...I
couldn’t leave him. But at the
same time, I couldn’t live that
way any more. So...
KELLY
Wait. So...?
JOANNE
So...I let him go. He didn’t want
to eat, I didn’t make him eat. He
didn’t want to drink water, I
didn’t make him drink water. He
didn’t want to move, I didn’t make
him move.
KELLY
And?
JOANNE
And at the end of the week, his
suffering was over. Mine too. It
was hard to watch but I couldn’t
do it anymore.
KELLY
I understand. I get it. He was
gone.
JOANNE
But now, here I am. I’m just alone
all the time! My days used to be
filled up and now it is just me,
sitting here!
8.
KELLY
Oh, honey! Honey!
JOANNE
I feel like this house is just a
warehouse. Like it’s accusing me.
Like I should give the house to
somebody, some family, with kids,
you know, who could fill the rooms
with life, with love! Not just me,
slowly, slowly...decaying.
Silently.
KELLY
But honey, Joanne! You’ve got
friends. You’ve got loads of
friends. And Tommy! He’ll meet
somebody, and who knows, probably
start a family. You’ll be a
grandmother, someday. Won’t that
be great?
JOANNE
It sounds like you’ll be a
grandmother first!
They both laugh!
KELLY
That girl, I tell you. Doesn’t
have the sense of a pony.
JOANNE
But she’s so beautiful, just like
you. Every boy at school will be
flirting with her.
KELLY
Well, between you and me, I
wouldn’t mind it a bit, if she
found some nice boy, some nice
rich boy, from here, who’s mama
expects him to come back home.
Bring her back, married, would be
fine with me.
JOANNE
Same with Tommy.
KELLY
But listen to me. One minute I
want her to stand on her own two
feet, and the next I have her
stitched up in a wedding gown!
(MORE)
9.
JOANNE
Who says we can’t have it all!
KELLY
Right!
JOANNE
Say, do you think anybody else is
coming? It’s a little odd, nobody
is here.
KELLY
Well...it’s summer. You know, Sue
and Greg, they’re down at the
beach. Becky has her daughter’s
shower tomorrow. And Patty and
Dave are at his brother’s place.
He’s having some kind of party and
she’s playing in a traditional
Irish band. I don’t know where
Julie is, or Terry, but you know
those two. Couldn’t count on them
anyway.
JOANNE
Yeah, but...I’ve made all this
food. Did you even read the book?
KELLY
Sure, of course! But I’m not sure
that ‘Slaughterhouse-5’ is quite a
summer read. That might be why
some stayed away. I mean, the
Bombing of Dresden?
JOANNE
I was more interested in the
experimental use of literary form.
He moves back and forth in time.
He is aware, as a character, that
the story is happening. That is
pretty radical stuff!
KELLY
Yeah, but concentration camps and
bomb shelters? Come on, it’s
August. How about a beach read?
JOANNE
It was funny! Billy Pilgrim is the
only survivor in three, Three!,
different disasters.
10.
And his wife, dying by carbon
monoxide in the car, frantically
trying to get to him when he’s in
the hospital. That’s funny.
KELLY
Yeah, but Russian soldiers raping
and killing everyone? Maybe
something lighter?
JOANNE
When he meets the wife, before,
and she’s fat and ugly, and he
says he had already seen the
outcome of their lives, “And it
seemed like it was all OK.” I
mean, comic genius!
KELLY
If you say so. Do you mind if I
get something to eat?
JOANNE
Please! Help yourself. Just slice
off as much turkey as you want.
The mashed potatoes and gravy are
warming. I’ll bring them out. Oh,
the cranberry sauce is still
chilling!
KELLY
Joanne, it’s summer time! How
about a pasta salad, or fruit and
cheese? You made a whole turkey? A
whole turkey?
JOANNE
Well...you know, Neil died at the
beginning of November, last
November. And Tommy is gone, and I
just, you know, never made
Thanksgiving last year. And, I
thought, well, everyone will come
over, and we’ll...you know...
KELLY
Have Thanksgiving?
JOANNE
Yeah. Like, everybody.
KELLY
Oh, honey, honey. Come here. I
love you, Jo. You’re the best.
11.
Kelly hugs Joanne.
THE END