''Hospitality Suite'' is a 1992

stage play A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging ...

written by

Roger Rueff Roger M. Rueff (13 December) is a writer whose produced dramatic works include stage plays, teleplays, and screenplays. Career His stage play '' Hospitality Suite'' premiered at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California in 1992 and has been ...

that centers on conflicting notions of character, salesmanship, honesty,

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

, and love that simmer until they boil over as two experienced salesmen and a young research engineer await a

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

whose visit to their modest hospitality suite could save their company from ruin.

Plot summary

In a small hotel room of the

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...

in downtown

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

, three representatives of an industrial

lubricants A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces ...

firm prepare to host a convention hospitality suite. Phil is a recently divorced

account manager An account manager (AM) is a person who works for a company and is responsible for the management of sales and relationships with particular customers. An account manager maintains the company's existing relationships with a client or group of cli ...

in his mid-50s who's begun to question his purpose in life and work. Larry is an established salesman, about 40 and energetic. Bob is a young engineer from the company research department, recently married, affable, inquisitive, and religious. Larry and Phil hope to make the acquaintance of Dick Fuller,

of one of the largest manufacturing firms in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

and, as such, a potential savior of their ailing company. They have invited him, but never met or seen him. As the three prepare the room, they discuss

, where the stark differences between Larry and Bob introduce tension. Late that night, when the last of the partygoers have left, Phil and Larry are desolate because Dick Fuller didn't show. Larry had even left the room to search for him earlier in the night but was unable to hunt him down. All seems truly lost until they realize that Dick Fuller did show up and that Bob unwittingly talked to him at length about a lot of issues unrelated to industrial lubricants, including religion—a fact that accentuates the battle lines and brings Larry's blood to a low boil. Bob is sent on a mission to find Dick Fuller at another party down the street and relay Larry and Phil's desire to speak to him about lubricants. As Phil and Larry wait for Bob, the questions bugging Phil about life and purpose make themselves known—cutting through the veneer of their relationship and exposing both to their true feelings about each other. When Bob returns and reveals that he found Dick Fuller but that he could only bring himself to talk to him about Jesus, the gloves come off, and no one is left unscathed.

Reception

The play received critical reviews. Reviewers praised some of the one-liners and comedy, and especially appreciated how well the set design evoked a bland business hotel. However, they found the characters and attempted philosophical discussions too shallow.

Film adaptation

Director John Swanbeck created a 1999 motion picture version of the play titled '' The Big Kahuna''.

wrote the screenplay with

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. Known for Kevin Spacey on screen and stage, his work on stage and screen, he List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Spacey, has received numerous accolades, including two ...

(Larry),

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...

(Phil) and

Peter Facinelli Peter Facinelli ( ; born November 26, 1973) is an American-Italian actor. He starred as Donovan "Van" Ray on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox series ''Fastlane (TV series), Fastlane'' from 2002 to 2003. He played Dr. Carlisle Cullen in the The ...

(Bob) starring in the lead roles.

References

{{Reflist American plays adapted into films Plays set in Kansas 1992 plays