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Lanie Robertson did something radical: he gave the madwoman in the basement the last word. Every time an actor reads that monologue aloud, or a director blocks that final, terrible silence, Mary lives again.

Specifically, a play that is almost impossible to read.

Unable to leave her cell, Mary reenacts her "commitment hearing" using her bucket as a judge's bench and her blanket as a robe. She plays all parts: the crying defendant, the cold lawyer, the indifferent judge. It is heartbreaking comedy.

Based on actual historical events, the story follows Mary Girard, the wife of wealthy financier Stephen Girard. After Mary becomes pregnant by another man, Stephen uses his legal right as a husband to have her declared insane and committed to a "lunatic cell" in the basement of Pennsylvania Hospital.

Robertson’s play is still very much under copyright. It is published by Dramatists Play Service (DPS). In a normal world, you would simply buy the acting edition for $10.99, download it, and read it.

Lanie Robertson's 1976 play, , is a haunting one-act drama that blends historical fiction with psychological horror. Based on a true story from 1790, it depicts the first night of Mary Girard’s confinement in a Philadelphia insane asylum after being committed by her wealthy husband, Stephen Girard. Plot Overview & Historical Context

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