Three men—a teacher, an aspiring jazz pianist, and an unemployed actor—share a worn Manhattan apartment. All have lost their jobs, faced rejection from their families, and are living with AIDS. Through their relationships with one another, an unseen psychiatrist, and a former lover, A QUIET END explores friendship, loyalty, faith, fear, and the meaning of chosen family. First produced in 1986, the play was among the earliest theatrical works to examine the human experience of the AIDS crisis. Rather than concentrating on politics, it gives its attention to the men themselves—celebrating people who, in the face of death, become determined to embrace life. Open Space Arts presents a 40th-anniversary staged reading of this rarely produced work. ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT Robin Swados is an American playwright, writer, and editor. A QUIET END received productions in the United States and internationally before opening Off-Broadway in 1990. The play remains his best-known theatrical work and an important early portrait of friendship and chosen family during the AIDS crisis.