Playhouse On Park, West Hartford, CT
through March 8, 2015
by Mary Ann Dennis
There's something about dining rooms that stick in our
memory over the decades. Wooden tables and cabinets set the scene for family
reunions and celebrations, the sharing of relatives' secrets and discussion of
their tragedies.
A.J. Gurney's 1982 play "The Dining Room" is an
actor’s dream show. Set in a single room, 18 scenes from different households
overlap and intertwine. Director Sasha Bratt is brilliant. He gently leads six
actors, who play 50 characters between them, like a master orchestral conductor.
The sets, lights and costumes are perfect and the amount of quick changes could
have wound up on America’s Got Talent.
The actors portray a wide variety of characters, from little
boys to stern grandfathers, from giggling teenage girls to housemaids. The
versatility of these actors rotating among the many roles makes for a thrilling
experience.
Ezra Barnes excels in his command of the stage as a grouchy
grandpa to giddy kid -- his “acting gymnastics” are a perfect ten. Annie Grier
is brilliant as she moves from a servant to a mom to a mischievous pot smoking
college student. Susan Haefner is alluring as the middle-aged seductress, perky
as a young girl who doesn't want to go to dancing school, and alternately
poised and aloof as an older women.
Sean Harris plays nine characters; he is stunning to watch.
Susan Slotoroff, sparks in her many roles. Jay William Thomas is flawless as he
embraces changing personalities and ages with virtuoso skill.
The fact that the culture of private clubs, boarding schools
and well-dressed maids has vanished won't bother many viewers; although it
makes it a bit harder to feel sympathetic for the characters.
So much has changed in both home styles and families since
Gurney penned his play. Still, most people can relate to universal themes of
family change, and avid “theater goers” will find the work mesmerizing.
