Filled with hilarious repartee and not a few acerbic but mostly humorously revealing verbal collisions, the play moves toward tragedy when, in the second act, the spunky Shelby (who is diabetic) risks pregnancy and forfeits her life. The sudden realization of their mortality affects the others, but also draws on the underlying strength - and love - which give the play, and its characters, the special quality to make them truly touching, funny and marvelously amiable company in good times and bad.