A Nervous Smile is a play written by John Belluso that was originally commissioned by the Actors Theatre of Louisville.
[1][2] The play was originally directed by David Esbjornson and starred Sean Haberle as Brian, Maureen Mueller as Eileen, Mhari Sandoval as Nic, and Dale Soules as Blanka.
Throughout the play he struggles to understand his place as father to a child with cerebral palsy and also grapples with his relationship to his wife and to the woman he is having an affair with.
A multi-millionaire from investing in her father's company, she is snobbish, alcoholic, and regularly pops pills (Vicodine and Oxycontin being the two primarily mentioned and utilized drugs).
He tells Nic of his dreams to live with her in Buenos Aires and this can happen because Eileen is going to grant him a divorce as well as half his money ($10 million) and a promise they will never see one another again.
Nic, in response, tells her of one of the 'bad days' Dominic had recently and how overwhelmed she has become caring for him, reasoning that because of this her only option is to leave.
The scene ends with Brian carrying a sleeping Emily out the door with Nic and Eileen close on his heels.
The audience learns that Brian left Nic at the airport security check when she began to have second thoughts about running away with him and abandoning her son.
As the two women reflect on their shared experiences the image of Brian (wherever he is in the world) appears and he expresses his true hatred for Emily and everything she represents to him.
In an emotional outburst, she convinces Eileen to listen to some of Emily's poems which is the last thing the audience hears as the lights go out.