Synopsis

A dimly lit bar in New York City, where dreams and desperation mingle in the smoky air.

Fredric, a struggling writer teetering on the edge of middle age, nurses his drink and his delusions of grandeur. As he navigates the treacherous waters of the publishing world, we witness his increasingly desperate attempts to cling to his fading ambitions. Fredric’s relationships with his long-suffering wife Maryanne, his more successful friend Jack, and the alluring young editor Lillian form a complex web of desire, jealousy, and self-deception. Each interaction pushes Fredric closer to a reckoning with the harsh realities of his unfulfilled potential.

Korder’s play is a dissection of the American Dream and the crushing weight of artistic ambition. Through crackling dialogue and a series of tightly constructed scenes, the playwright explores themes of masculinity in crisis, the commodification of art, and the fear of irrelevance. The Lights offers a darkly comic yet poignant portrait of a man – and by extension, a culture – grappling with the gap between expectation and reality.