I enjoy stories about schemes--stories where people deliberately play roles to win prizes (prizes that apparently could not be achieved through honest work). This is a big part of why I'm so fond of the TV series "The Outs," which repeatedly has its lead characters attempting little performances. Oona conscripts her gay bestie to play the role of "boyfriend"--to make an old ex jealous. Mitchell has an ex pretend to be a *current* boyfriend--because Mitchell needs to seem like a "relationship expert" for a specific audience. Inevitably, the schemes fall apart. The Broadway version of "The Outs" is "Hello, Dolly!" Dolly Levi doesn't want her client Horace to court a young woman named Irene--so Dolly mentions (falsely) that Irene's first husband "may not have died of natural causes." Later, to lure Horace to the Harmonia Gardens, Dolly (falsely) promises a fabulous date. When the date implodes, Dolly moves in for t...