Review: 'The Dining Room' At Stratford's Square One Theatre

Dedicated to the memory of the actress Alice McMahon Bonvenuto (Dr. Ruth Westheimer in her final Square One Theatre role in BECOMING DR. RUTH in May 2017)

Stratford, CT - THE DINING ROOM, a “comedy of manner” written by the late A. R. Gurney, has opened at Square One Theatre in my hometown of Stratford. The play is comprised of 19 vignettes set in the dining room of a well-to-do household as members of the resident family gather for meals and various special occasions. The scenes move along swiftly when performed by six versatile actors and give us a portrait of the lifestyle of the vanishing breed known as the upper-middle-class WASP.

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 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 Thanksgiving 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.

Mr. Gurney grew up in the exclusive suburbia that he depicts in his plays. His many plays include LOVE LETTERS, SYLVIA and seven more that have all been produced at Square One. The playwright passed away on June 13, 2017.

I had a not very strong feeling that I had seen this play once before, but when nothing came back to me while I watched the excellent Square One production, I concluded that I must have been mistaken. Then I found the link to the review I had written of the Phoenix Stage production back in 2016 and reading what I had written did help me remember some details. The program states that “the play takes place in a dining room or numerous dining rooms across many years” and is presented without an intermission. This note helps to dispel the idea that each scene featured the families that were the new owners of the same house or that the scenes were somehow related. They are not.

Tom Holehan, Artistic Director of Square One, directed the cast with a practiced eye to detail and made the scenes run well. Kim Krol was the stage manager. Robert Mastroni designed the traditional fancy dining room set complete with chandelier and Clifford Fava was in charge of the fine lighting. Gaetana Barbano-Grinder coordinated the always appropriate costumes for the characters. Don Henault worked the sound and Ray Corrica, Frank Fartely and George Grom were the crew. Richard Pheneger is the General Manager of Square One.

The cast is listed in the program in alphabetical order because listing the characters that they played in the 19 scenes would be almost impossible. However, each and every member of the cast easily shifted from one character to the next with often only a simple costume change; that was all it took to immediately take on their next role. Some were young children, others middle aged and a few in their golden years; all were convincingly played by this talented cast of six.

Ryan Hendrickson appeared in THE WINSLOW BOY at Square One and has credits with Westport Community Theatre, Curtain Call and Town Players of New Canaan. Josie Kulp was in CLEVER LITTLE LIES at Square One, as well as SPRING AWAKENING at the Warner.

Bruce Murray was the title character of WHITE GUY ON A BUS at Square One and has credits with Eastbound Theatre, Nutmeg Actors Rep Theatre, Center Stage and Youth Connection. Priscilla Squires appeared in THE GRASS HARP and TO GILLIAN ON HER 37th BIRTHDAY with Square One; she has numerous other regional and area theatre credits, including GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE, MAMMA MIA!, SOUVENIR and many more.

Daneille Sultini was in the cast of THE GOD GAME, GOOD PEOPLE and a long list of other shows at Square One, as well as Eastbound Theatre, Nutmeg Actors Repertory Theatre, Wilton Playshop and Greater Norwalk Community Theatre. David Victor appeared in THE GOD GAME and THE WINSLOW BOYS and more at Square One, as well as productions with Players of Putney Gardens, Center Stage, Westport Community Theatre and Darien Arts Center.

You can join Square One for further discussion of THE DINING ROOM on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at 12 noon at the historic Perry House, which is a new location for Play It Again, Square One! Still to come in their 30th Anniversary Season is John Palmeier’s AGNES OF GOD May 7-24, 2020. Friends of Square One Theatre invite you to its annual spring luncheon on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 at Mill River Country Club in Stratford. Doors open at 11:30am and tickets are $30; proceeds benefit the William A. Barry Scholarship Fund. RSVP before April 22; call 203 926-1224.

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts well over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.

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