The first play in The Apple Family Plays: Scenes from Life in the Country. Election day, November 2, 2010. Uncle Benjamin’s dog has died and his nieces and nephew have gathered for dinner in Rhinebeck, New York, to surprise him with a new one. As they anxiously wait for the polls to close, the Apple family discusses memory, manners, and politics. That Hopey Changey Thing premiered at the Public Theater in November, 2010. It returned to the Public in 2013 and played in repertory with the other Apple Family Plays: Sweet and Sad; Sorry; and Regular Singing.