After the success of Pat’s first play, he decided to write a second one, this time primarily from unpublished material written specifically for the stage.

 

In “McManus In Love,” young Pat finally defeats his fear of the dark and realizes it was child’s play compared to his fear of ...girls! The result is a hilarious romp through the maze of self-torture we all go through when we begin to date.

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Pat examines the universal phenomenon: YOUR FIRST DATE WILL WARP YOUR PERSONALITY FOREVER! Each step of Pat’s romantic mis-education fore= shadows the next ominous learning experience.

 

The play culminates when the audience is taken into the movie theater on that first date between young Pat and Melba Peachbottom, the prettiest girl in school.

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Along the way, Pat and his side-kick, Crazy Eddie, receive personal grooming tips from Rancid Crabtree, and advice of all kinds from several deranged denizens of Blight, Idaho, including Pat’s cousin Buck, who knew everything at that age. (Later Buck would turn out to be only slighter smarter than celery, but at THAT age he knew everything.)

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Once again, Behrens portrays more than a dozen of McManus’ stock characters, as well as a bear and, for a brief moment, a bicycle!