The play is set in the dining room of a typical well-to-do household, the place where the family assembled daily for breakfast and dinner and for any and all special occasions. The action is comprised of a mosaic of interrelated scenes—some funny, some touching, some rueful—which, taken together, create an in-depth portrait of a vanishing species: the upper-middle-class WASP. The actors change roles, personalities and ages with virtuoso skill as they portray a wide variety of characters, from little boys to stern grandfathers, and from giggling teenage girls to Irish housemaids. Each vignette introduces a new set of people and events; a father lectures his son on grammar and politics; a boy returns from boarding school to discover his mother's infidelity; a senile grandmother doesn't recognize her own sons at Christmas dinner; a daughter, her marriage a shambles, pleads futilely to return home, etc. Dovetailing swiftly and smoothly, the varied scenes coalesce, ultimately, into a theatrical experience of exceptional range, compassionate humor and abundant humanity.
A brilliantly conceived and richly humorous theatrical tour de force (and Off-Broadway success) in which six (or more) performers portray a wide array of diverse characters as they delineate the dying lifestyle of wealthy WASPdom, and the now neglected room which was once a vital center of family life.
"…hilarious and touching…as comic sketch crazily succeeds comic sketch a whole pattern of American life emerges…" —NY Post.
"THE DINING ROOM serves a banquet of theatrical riches." —NY Daily News.
"…a thoughtful and superbly written comedy…" —Variety.
"…often funny and rueful and, by the end, very moving." —NY Times.
The Dining Room serves up food for thought
A Review by Deborah Skozek
When was the last time your family ate dinner in the dining room on a weeknight?
Playwright A. R. Gurney's The Dining Room, first produced in 1982, details the gradual transformation and eventual demise of the dining room. Through a series of humorous and poignant vignettes, the play demonstrates how white gloves, finger bowls and silver tea service have given way to in-home offices, large, open-area kitchens and clutter.
The six-member cast of Pam Curtis, Timothy R. Curtis, Tim Cornwell, Kim Scharlow, Rob Scharlow and Karen Jorgensen portray a countless array of characters from young children to grandparents. Although all the actors knew their lines and apparently did not miss a cue opening night, being an annoying 6-year-old boy or young household maid one minute and a grandfather planning his funeral or grandmother with Alzheimers a few minutes later poses some obvious difficulties and demands. The spare but effective costuming and props assist the audience as well as the cast in distinguishing one character from another. However, some cast members seem more facile and adept at portraying the range of behaviors and emotions each new set of characters requires.
The adult-themed, two-act play based upon the culture of East Coast, white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants strikes a chord with anyone who has been the member of a family. One character reminisces of how, once old enough to eat with his parents in the dining room, he learned that his uncle was as rich as Croesus and drank like a fish and that his aunt had a tipped uterus. The children's birthday party, a son's return home from college, a teenage girl and her friend coming home from school to an empty house, and a granddads decrying how "everyone is going away" address similarly familiar instances in our lives.
The previous two Gemini Players productions directed by the multitalented Rob Scharlow took place in the front window of the Stage Left Cafe. The Dining Room's dining room table, however, is positioned in the center of the cafe which creates greater intimacy, mitigates outside distractions and allows for easier viewing by the entire audience. As in the past, the Gemini Players once again chose a play most conducive to the cafe's space and atmosphere.
The Dining Room proves more entertaining than watching television, more thought provoking than weeding the garden, more poignant than reading a romance novel and more laughs than expected. At the end of the evening, several audience members who never attended a Stage Left Cafe production remarked on how they wish they made a point to get out more often and take advantage of such opportunities. Less than two hours long, The Dining Room may be enjoyed at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday, May 24 and 26, at the Stage Left Cafe for a recommended $5 donation. Don't let the opportunity pass you by.
Deborah Skozek is a frequent contributor and proofreader for The Woodstock Independent.
LtoR: Pam Curtis, Tim Curtis, Karen Jorgensen
Tim Cornwell , Kim Scharlow. (not pictured, Rob Scharlow) |
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Rob Scharlow & Tim Cornwell |
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