Niagara Falls

NIAGARA FALLS consists of two interrelated one-acts: AMERICAN COFFEE and THE SHANGRI-LA MOTOR INN. AMERICAN COFFEE: A working-class couple plots to drug their gay son and his lover to keep them from attending their daughter's wedding. THE SHANGRI-LA MOTOR INN: The newlyweds are ensconced in the Shangri-La Motor Inn for their wedding night. While the groom is anticipating the evening ahead, the bride is discussing the annulment of her not-yet-consummated marriage with the gay motel clerk.

"Rich comic cadences ... Bumbalo is a funny guy." -Marilyn Stasio, New York Post

"Funny ... Lively ... Bumbalo demonstrates a healthy satiric wit, aimed at both straights and gays, and a lively sense of comic dialogue." -Bernard Weiner, San Francisco Chronicle

"NIAGARA FALLS dares to tread in delicate areas ... Bumbalo scores some sharp character comedy ... the play's overall treatment of a situation and a rejected social class who receive little 'gay' treatment is most welcomed." -Nicholas de Jongh, The Guardian (London)

"Funny and incisive." -Rob Baker, Daily News

"Bumbalo must have secretly taped parents across the country. He outdoes Neil Simon ... It is a finely written work." -John Kerr, Bay Area Reporter

"A maximum of both humor and pathos ... I could have cheered." -James M Saslow, The Advocate

"There is a basic humanity here that one finds in very few plays." -Michael Bronski, Gay Community News

"NIAGARA FALLS is a tender, canny, and frequently hilarious comedy." -Alan Stern, The Boston Phoenix