YOU'RE INVITED TO SIT AT THE "THE DINING ROOM” TABLE

A.R. Gurney was an astute observer of life.  He loved to poke a gentle finger of fun at one particular group, the WASPS, the white Anglo-Saxon Protestants he knew
 well. In his sweet, sentimental, slightly serious, often silly play "The Dining Room,” he 
lavishes his particular form of flattery brilliantly well.

A formal dining room can be the simple setting for a hurried bowl of corn flakes and a fast 
read of the headlines at breakfast, a friendly ladies lunch where gossip is more important 
than the spinach and onion quiche, a gala engagement party to celebrate an upcoming and 
long awaited nuptials, all the way to a family gathering to acknowledge the multitude of 
blessings of a Thanksgiving feast.  Seldom has it been the setting for a plethora of stories 
more fulfilling and rewarding than in Square One Theatre Company’s latest offering 
weekends until Sunday, March 22.

Stratford Academy in Stratford at 719 Birdseye Street will be setting a place for you
 in the honored seat at the head of the table. There you will bear witness to a wonderful 
variety of stories that take place in that venerable room of the house. A series of scenes 
will collide and overlap seamlessly in a mosaic blend of passages of time. The 
observations of life tell volumes about the characters, from their use of finger bowls to 
their fiery defense of any slight that affects a family member.  The traditions of the dining
 room are sacred and have experienced a  succession  of changes over the decades, all 
delightfully captured by the playwright.

 A talented and incredibly versatile troupe of performers - Ryan Hendrickson, Josie Kulp, 
Bruce Murray, Priscilla Squiers, Danielle Sultini and David Victor - will tackle a 
multitude of roles, from scrappy lad to forgetful grandma, architect to real estate agent, 
lecturing father to unfaithful mother, a Thanksgiving of disappointment to a marriage that 
needs repairs.  What they all have in common is the sturdy table built in 1898 and the 
occupants who are all WASPS, Gurney's favorite culture, who portray the declining 
vitality of their lifestyle and of the table that was once the focus of their power.  Because 
of the success with "The Dining Room," Gurney left teaching at MIT to write full-time. 
 Tom Holehan serves as the master maitr’d who directs this involving collection of family
 tales that pays homage to a dying tradition and the people who kept it sacred for so long.

For tickets ($22 and seniors $20), call Square One Theatre Company at 203-375-8778 or 
online at www.SquareOneTheatre.com. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., 
Saturday at 4 pm. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Let A. R. Gurney be your guide into a world he knew intimately well and introduce you to a clan of people whose lives have changed dramatically over

the years, even if their beloved dining room table has endured in tact over the decades. The tapers are lit, the cocktails are chilling, the white tablecloth is starched and laid, and all that is missing is you.