Accent
Reality bites pair's vision in 'Dinner'
By Kathleen Allen
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona Published: 01.09.2009
Put yourself in Gabe and Karen's place, two of the four characters in Donald Margulies' Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Dinner With Friends," which Beowulf Alley Theatre opens Saturday.
Art Almquist, left, Rick Shipman, Carrie Hill and Rhonda Hallquist star in
Scott Griessel / Courtesy of Beowulf Alley Theatre
Gabe and Karen were just newlyweds when they introduced Tom and Beth to each other. Tom and Beth married, and the four of them became great friends, doing everything together.
So when Tom and Beth announce they are getting a divorce, Gabe and Karen are thrown for a loop. Wouldn't you be?
And they begin to question their own relationship. Wouldn't you?
"Gabe and Karen introduced this couple, created them, in a way, into a vision of the perfect couple," said Susan Arnold, director of the production.
"That sustained them. In life, we have a vision of how it's going to go. When that vision is upset, we adjust. I think that process is very interesting to look at."
In any other hands, "Dinner With Friends" might become a one-note piece.
In the hands of Margulies, it's a much different beast.
"I love the way he writes and the way he examines the human condition," said Arnold.
"He's very even-handed with his characters."
Consequently, he makes a piece about a break-up something more, she added.
"It's more about the shock waves that emanate from all four characters. It speaks to our perceived notions about the way life should be."
And it's a play that Arnold hopes will stick with audience members.
"I've always felt theater is a wonderful vehicle for examining the human condition and raising questions, for getting people to think," she said.
"I would like the audience to walk out of the theater and talk to each other about what they saw and what they heard."
"It's more about the shock waves that emanate from all four characters. It speaks to our perceived notions about the way life should be."
Susan Arnold,
"Dinner With Friends" director
● Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com.
