Quake ‘05
The day Frannie Ehrlich died changed the world forever. Her husband Artie, alone after thirty-five years of marriage, tries to remain on solid ground as seismic shifts send vibrations through Bindiger's, the family-owned department store where he is at the helm. But nothing as is it was, and Frannie being gone is only the half of it. Ominous rumblings signal something looming in the dark – is his business in danger from global competition, or from the office next door? Is his teenage daughter healing after her mother's death, or bent on self destruction? When he befriends Marena, a night custodian, is it the beginning of gaining some control, or losing it altogether? When the tremors grow and the lights go out, how Artie handles the dark will make all the difference.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
ARTIE EHRLICH Early 60s, Chief Operating Officer of Bindiger's Department Store. Four years after he lost his wife to breast cancer on 9/11, he's still struggling to regain emotional stability, and keep his teenage daughter, Robbie, out of trouble. All this while navigating the changing world of post-911 business. His downward spiral is abated when he meets Marena, a young Armenian immigrant with whom he finds common emotional ground.
BARRY BERNETT Late 40’s, Head Buyer for the outdoor furniture department at Bindiger's. Striving, smarmy and smart, Barry is a bundle of aggressive energy. Like a cunning chess player, Barry sees the world a few steps ahead of all the chumps. He knows who to ingratiate himself and has little patience for those he deems as less talented. Now he finds himself a few years away from 50 and, in the new world order, his opportunity for advancement may be slipping away. Worse, his mentor, Artie Ehrlich, can't seem to see what he sees, a rising China, a hyper-competitive market, and possibly the end of Bindigers.
DIEGO NUNEZ Age 24. Assistant buyer, outdoor furniture department at Bindiger's. Earnest and hard-working, Diego has staked his future on the American dream; start at the bottom in a solid corporation, work diligently and be rewarded. The son of a single working mom, Diego is proud to be the first man in his family to have a white-collar job. He's marrying his high school girlfriend and creating the family he never had. Finally, he's part of a man's world, with his hero, Artie Ehrlich modeling how to navigate it.
ROBBIE EHRLICH Age 14. Artie Ehrlich's daughter. Since her mother's death from breast cancer, on the most unfortunate day - 9/11 - Robbie is a little-girl-lost. She's angry, confused, and out of control, desperately seeking relief in drugs and sex with boys she meets on the internet. Feeling incapable of helping her, Artie sends her to stay with her aunt Joanie, for some much needed mothering, which only heightens her sense of abandonment. Robbie has a secret: she knows that the "cancer" gene that killed her mother, will do the same to her.
MARENA ABADJIAN Age 25. Recent Armenian immigrant. Hardened by a life of struggle and an encounter with an unforgettable tragedy: an Armenian earthquake that consumed most of her family. Rising through her stoic determination are glimpses of an extraordinary sense of humanity, a preternatural understanding of life's harsh realities. Brought to America by an unloving husband, Marena finds an unusual way to survive on her own working as a night custodian at Bindiger's. Her chance encounter with her employer, Artie Ehrlich, threatens to unravel her plans.
JOEL BINDIGER Early 60s. Chief Executive Officer of Bindiger's. Spending more time at his house in the Hamptons than in his office, Joel has long been more of a figurehead at Bindiger's than a real executive. He's abandoned all of his responsibilities to his childhood friend, Artie Ehrlich, but not his authority. Hence, when he and his siblings decide to sell the family business started by their father, and Artie's large stake in the company threatens the deal, Joel proves that when it comes to money, blood is always thicker than water.