The Dining Room
Encyclopedia
The Dining Room is a play by the American playwright A. R. Gurney
. It was first produced in New York, New York at the Studio Theatre of Playwrights Horizons, opening January 31, 1981.
The play is a comedy of manners
, set in a single dining room where 18 scenes from different households overlap and intertwine. Presumably, each story is focused around a different family during different time periods who has in their possession the same dining room furniture set, manufactured in 1898. The stories are about White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
(WASP) families
. Some scenes are about the furniture itself and the emotional attachment to it, while other scenes simply flesh out the culture of the WASPs. Overall, it tells the story of the dying and relatively short-lived culture of upper-middle class
Americans, and the transition into a much more efficient society with less emphasis on tradition
and more emphasis on progress
. Some characters are made fun of, as is the culture itself, but there is also a genuine longing for the sense of stability, comfort and togetherness
that the culture provides.
From the back of the playbook:
It was directed by David Trainer. Loren Sherman designed the set, Deborah Shaw the costumes, and Frances Aronson the lighting. The production stage manager was M. A. Howard.
A. R. Gurney
A. R. Gurney is an American playwright and novelist. He is known for works including Love Letters, The Cocktail Hour, and The Dining Room. Gurney currently lives in both New York and Connecticut....
. It was first produced in New York, New York at the Studio Theatre of Playwrights Horizons, opening January 31, 1981.
The play is a comedy of manners
Comedy of manners
The comedy of manners is a genre of play/television/film which satirizes the manners and affectations of a social class, often represented by stock characters, such as the miles gloriosus in ancient times, the fop and the rake during the Restoration, or an old person pretending to be young...
, set in a single dining room where 18 scenes from different households overlap and intertwine. Presumably, each story is focused around a different family during different time periods who has in their possession the same dining room furniture set, manufactured in 1898. The stories are about White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant or WASP is an informal term, often derogatory or disparaging, for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of British Protestant ancestry. The group supposedly wields disproportionate financial and social power. When it appears in writing, it is usually used to...
(WASP) families
Nuclear family
Nuclear family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a father and mother and their children. This is in contrast to the smaller single-parent family, and to the larger extended family. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple, but not always; the nuclear family may have...
. Some scenes are about the furniture itself and the emotional attachment to it, while other scenes simply flesh out the culture of the WASPs. Overall, it tells the story of the dying and relatively short-lived culture of upper-middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
Americans, and the transition into a much more efficient society with less emphasis on tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
and more emphasis on progress
Progress (history)
In historiography and the philosophy of history, progress is the idea that the world can become increasingly better in terms of science, technology, modernization, liberty, democracy, quality of life, etc...
. Some characters are made fun of, as is the culture itself, but there is also a genuine longing for the sense of stability, comfort and togetherness
Togetherness
__FORCETOC__Togetherness is the feeling of being close to another person emotionally and physically. It is an emotion which cannot be definitive outside of its current sociological meaning, and the reality of such a term is not "knowledge." It is well symbolized by the gesture of holding both hands...
that the culture provides.
From the back of the playbook:
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 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 IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
housemaids. Each vignetteVignette (literature)In theatrical script writing, sketch stories, and poetry, a vignette is a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant impression about a character, an idea, or a setting and sometimes an object...
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 ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
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.
First performance
It was first produced at the Studio Theatre of Playwrights Horizons, in New York City, opening January 31, 1981, with the following cast (with the various roles they played):- 1st Actor: Remak RamsayRemak RamsayRemak Ramsay is an American veteran stage, film and television actor.Ramsay was born Gustavus Remak Ramsay in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Caroline V...
- Father, Michael, Brewster, Grandfather, Stuart, Gordon, David, Harvey and Host - 2nd Actor: John SheaJohn SheaJohn Victor Shea III is an American actor and director who has starred on stage, television and in film. He is best known for his role as Lex Luthor in the 1990s TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and also starred in the short lived 1990s TV series WIOU as Hank Zaret...
- Client, Howard, Psychiatrist, Ted, Paul, Ben, Chris, Jim, Dick and Guest - 3rd Actor: William H. MacyWilliam H. MacyWilliam Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...
-Arthur, Boy, Architect, Billy, Nick, Fred, Tony, Standish, and Guest - 1st Actress: Lois de BanzieLois de BanzieLois de Banzie is an American stage, film, and television actress. De Banzie is best known for her Drama Desk Award winning and Tony Award nominated performance in Paul Osborn's play Morning's at Seven. Her other Broadway credits include The Octette Bridge Club, Da, and The Last of Mrs...
- Agent, Mother, Carolyn, Sandra, Dora, Margery, Beth, Kate, Claire, and Ruth - 2nd Actress: Ann McDonough - Annie, Grace, Peggy, Nancy, Sarah, Harriet, Emily, Annie, and Guest
- 3rd Actress: Pippa Pearthree - Sally, Girl, Ellie, Aggie, Winkie, Old Lady, Helen, Meg, Bertha, and Guest
It was directed by David Trainer. Loren Sherman designed the set, Deborah Shaw the costumes, and Frances Aronson the lighting. The production stage manager was M. A. Howard.