John Preston

A Morning in the Life of Henry Faulkner John Preston

This play depicts a morning in the life of artist Henry Faulkner, set in his winter studio/home in Key West, Fla., during the mid-1960s. The action of the play is set in motion after Henry persuades his young houseguest, Hollis, to procure his girlfriend, Eva, for Jack, a sailor Henry has been keeping around, because Jack "misses his wife." Hollis feels "obligated" to provide Eva because he has sprayed the house with "poison" while Henry was out, claiming there were fleas, and as a result two of Henry's beloved cats "are sick." But after Eva and Jack have been upstairs in Henry's bedroom for "over thirty minutes," Hollis begins to worry and starts to regret what he has done. "What's taking so long" is Hollis' refrain throughout the running time of the play. However, when Eva and Jack finally come downstairs, near close of the play, it is revealed that missing his wife was not the real reason Jack wanted Eva. What took so long was something else entirely.