"Buying Time" by Michael Weller (Playwright's Note) is a tale of warriors versus deal-makers in the practice of public service law. It is a gripping portrayal, based on a true story, of a law firm torn between its pro-bono policy, which unites its elite staff of attorneys with a sense of mission, and its duty to a money-wielding, powerful tycoon client who opposes the issues they represent.  The play launches the third season of Hypothetical Theatre Company as resident company of The New 14th Street Y. Artistic Director Amy Feinberg directs.

The tale is set in the Southwest, where a law firm named Donne & Russo has just won a high-profile environmental case that toppled a Governor.  This victory notwithstanding, the firm is about to be undermined by timber and mining interests, an 'extractive mafia', which is insinuating itself into environmental law firms and then killing them off one by one.  D&R is about to represent the protectors of an endangered bird, the Grayhawk, against Reinhardt Lumber, an environmental pariah that would clear-cut the bird's habitat.  D&R's star litigator, Bennett Traube, will supervise the case and is poised to become the firm's managing partner.  He doesn't know it, but his career is in crisis: the firm is caught between its commitment to social causes and its increasing reliance on corporate business.  Bennett yearns to save the firm from the barbarians; he is a great warrior, but his heart is weakened by intra-firm politics and a family life which is eroding from neglect.  He becomes obsessed with the house counsel of D&R's client in the Grayhawk case--a beautiful, young, idealistic woman lawyer--and beds her in an awkward attempt to borrow from her moral strength.  This leads to his blackmail and downfall.

This tight, suspenseful drama, written for a cast of forteen, astutely frames the career conflict affecting many lawyers today, for whom long hours and high salaries make pro bono work an historical curiosity or a luxury.  They are drawn to the law by the impulse to do right, but their thrust toward social crusades is often replaced by the lawyer's other fantasy--in the words of one character, "the Ferrari with full digital stereo, tilt-back seats and a blond shiksa wearing perfume called 'Portfolio'.   is a play of idealism versus greed, but it is also a play that humanizes lawyers and brings to light their struggle to reconcile ethical obligations with the very real demands of the bank account.  It electrifies in our unique time when, according to news reports this summer, the pressures of our booming economy have squeezed attorneys' pro bono hours, on a national average, down to 25% of what they were only seven years ago. 

Michael Weller has authored "Loose Ends," "Moonchildren," "Fishing," "Split," "Spoils of War," and "Lake No Bottom." His films include "Hair," "Ragtime" (for Milos Forman), and "Lost Angels" (for Hugh Hudson). "Buying Time" was written in 1995 and inspired by the true story of a socially-engaged law firm which, like D&R in this play, actually paid its lawyers for pro bono work. The play was first presented by Seattle Rep in 1996. This production is its New York premiere.

Hypothetical Theatre first caught the spotlight with its 1998 premiere of Michael Weller's "Ghost on Fire," which it produced at Irish Arts Center before acquiring residency at The New 14th Street Y.  Weller's drama, described by The New York Times (Wilborn Hampton) as "a witty and rueful elegy for a generation," drew approving notices and audiences and seeded the current collaboration between Weller and the company.  In 1999, Hypothetical presented the world premiere of Weller's broad comedy, "The Heart of Art," a biting satire set in the 'crazy days' of the iconic nonprofit theaters of New York.  "Ghost on Fire" in 1998.  The cast also includes Monique Fowler, Tibor Feldman, Chuck Montgomery, Irene McDonnell, Margot: Jennifer Trimble, Mark Dold, Jennifer Gibbs, Patrick Boll, Evan Thompson, Andy Powers, David Ari, Antonio del Rosario and Jeff Kronson.