Pretty Theft By Adam Szymkowicz: Summary

Pretty Theft, by Adam Szymkowicz, has two stories at the beginning that intertwine in the middle of the play. 18-year-old, Allegra, befriends “bad girl” Suzy and takes a job working at a group home. In addition, Allegra’s dad is dying and eventually dies. At her time in the group home, she becomes friends with Joe who is autistic. Allegra runs from her problems with Suzy, stealing Suzy’s mother car and driving away. They end up at a diner and meet a man named Marco. Marco used to be a thief. When Marco learns the girls have no place to go, he offers them a place to stay in his motel room. With the cops inspecting Suzy’s mother’s car, the three leave out the backdoor. Marco turns out to be a creep who drugs both of the girls and takes Polaroids of them while they’re unconscious. Once Allegra returns home, she tries to pick up the pieces of the life she left behind.
The theme of the play is loss and stealing. This is conveyed through many different aspects of the play. Stealing something means someone else losing something. Marco steals innocence from Allegra when he sexually assaults her. Allegra’s childhood is stolen when her father dies and her mother is preoccupied by TV. Joe loses his box and his ballerina. In addition, when Joe’s father dies, Joe loses his potential in life

Points of tension occur when Suzy and Bobby kiss because Bobby is still dating Allegra. Tension occurs when Allegra’s father dies even though you know he is very sick, you don’t know when he will die until he does. When Suzy and Allegra steal Suzy’s mother’s car, it creates tension because they are teen girls who don’t know what they are doing and where they are going. When the police are inspecting the stolen car, you don’t know if the girls are going to get arrested. When the girls are in Marco’s hotel room it creates tension because they are in a stranger’s motel