Cops

This gritty, realistic comedy/drama is set in a Chicago diner where three policemen play cruel practical jokes on the few late night customers and tell stories about themselves, fellow officers and the dull routine of killing time in a thankless job

A man enters, misunderstands a conversation and suddenly the play shifts into a hostage drama with unexpected carnage and suspense. With startlingly objectivity, both the killer's and the policemen's sides are shown as more police and TV cameras line up outside

Issues related to the earlier stories and jokes become tinged with menace as the policemen, who have never before been in a shoot out, must suddenly apply their bravado to a highly volatile situation

"Dexterously carved slice of life ... [with] hard edged realism ... and comic tension [that] shifts creditably into fearful tension" ~ N.Y. Times