Act 1, Scene 1

The Prisoner of Second Avenue takes place in a Manhattan apartment from midsummer to December, most likely in 1971. Mel and Edna Edison have been living on the fourteenth floor in this small apartment for six years. When the play opens, Mel is sitting alone anxiously in the dark at 2:30 a.m., moaning “Ohhh, Christ Almighty,” which wakes up Edna. When she asks him what is wrong, he replies, “Nothing,” and tells her to go back to bed, but then he keeps moaning. She soon gets him to admit that he cannot sleep because it is freezing in the apartment due to the broken air conditioner and asks what she can do to make him feel more comfortable. She notes that he has been tense for a week.

Mel then complains about the ugly pillows on the couch and declares that he is tired of the apartment...