NewsUpper SchoolStudent LifeFaculty/StaffAlumniAdvancementServiceFine Arts
Spring play spotlight Cheever's northeastern suburbanites
Apr 16, 2004 8:00 AM
By Stefan Eady - Faculty
The Darlington Players spring production, A Cheever Evening, with scenes and vignettes from the fiction of John Cheever assembled and shaped by playwright A.R. Gurney, was presented on April 29, April 30, and May 2. Rising to fame primarily on the basis of his many stories published in The New Yorker magazine, Cheever chronicled the lives of northeastern suburbanites of the nineteen fifties.
“Trapped in their beautifully appointed houses and neighborhoods,” says the Norton Anthology of American Literature, “Cheever’s characters are viewed with a sympathetic irony, well-seasoned by sadness.” John Leonard dubbed him “Our Chekov of the exurbs.” And as in Chekov, Cheever’s stories vibrate with a subtle and sometimes hilarious humor. Senior English classes are familiar with Cheever’s famous story, “The Country Husband.”
Gurney is perfectly suited to adapt this material. Best known for his plays The Dining Room and Sylvia, Gurney has made a career of observing his fellow New Yorkers with a wryly sympathetic point of view. He is a master of blending scenes and situations together with a theatricality that both moves and entertains us.
Actors played multiple roles in a fluid arrangement of vignettes arranged around a familiar location. In Act One Cheever’s people were in their apartments and suburban homes; in Act Two the audience saw them on vacation at their beach houses.
The cast brought several talented newcomers to the Darlington stage. The three actresses are all resident members of Griffeth House: Katherine Eid, freshman, Kate Moses, sophomore, and Ashley Adams, junior. The three actors are day students: Andrew Smith, freshman, Bergen House; Andrew Dodd, sophomore, Inman House; and Paul Maxwell, senior, Barnes House. All tackled the multiple role structure with enthusiasm.
“Trapped in their beautifully appointed houses and neighborhoods,” says the Norton Anthology of American Literature, “Cheever’s characters are viewed with a sympathetic irony, well-seasoned by sadness.” John Leonard dubbed him “Our Chekov of the exurbs.” And as in Chekov, Cheever’s stories vibrate with a subtle and sometimes hilarious humor. Senior English classes are familiar with Cheever’s famous story, “The Country Husband.”
Gurney is perfectly suited to adapt this material. Best known for his plays The Dining Room and Sylvia, Gurney has made a career of observing his fellow New Yorkers with a wryly sympathetic point of view. He is a master of blending scenes and situations together with a theatricality that both moves and entertains us.
Actors played multiple roles in a fluid arrangement of vignettes arranged around a familiar location. In Act One Cheever’s people were in their apartments and suburban homes; in Act Two the audience saw them on vacation at their beach houses.
The cast brought several talented newcomers to the Darlington stage. The three actresses are all resident members of Griffeth House: Katherine Eid, freshman, Kate Moses, sophomore, and Ashley Adams, junior. The three actors are day students: Andrew Smith, freshman, Bergen House; Andrew Dodd, sophomore, Inman House; and Paul Maxwell, senior, Barnes House. All tackled the multiple role structure with enthusiasm.
