The Dining Room - Elmwood Playhouse

written by A.R. Gurney

directed by Gerry Garrigan

Friday November 13th 1998 — Saturday December 5th 1998

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.

Cast

Arthur/Charlie/Psychiatrist/Billy/Paul/Fred/Jim/Standish/Guest: James Coakley
Agent/Annie/Grace/Peggy/Old Lady/Sarah/Aunt Harriet/Emily: Susan Durisoe
Client/Howard/Architect/Ted/Nick/Ben/Chris/Tony/Dick/Gues: James Lugo
Sally/Lizzie/Ellie/Aggie/Winkie/Nancy/Helen/Meg/Bertha/Gues: Carol Napier
Mother/Carolyn/Sandra/Dora/Margery/Beth/Kate/Claire/Ruth: Rhonda Smith
Father/Michael/Brewster/Grandfather/Stuart/Gordon/David/Harvey/Host: Derek Tarson