“If the family is the key theme of American drama, A R Gurney's ANCESTRAL VOICES: A FAMILY STORY is a beautiful chamber work in that great tradition. The short play is staged as a concert work, with five performers sitting on chairs in front of music stands, where they've laid their scripts. The five are playing members—grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, son—of a rich WASP family in Buffalo NY between 1935 and 1942, with a brief coda from the 1960s. The son, Eddie, who goes from age eight to twelve, is our narrator, guide and point of view.... This lovely play unites the microcosm of family to the macrocosm of America at war. On Eddie's first date he brings his girl a paper `war-sage'. It's also about something in between—a city. It's an elegy for Buffalo, a once-glorious place whose fortunes are declining. The texture of life in Buffalo is heartbreakingly evoked in ways reminiscent of The Magnificent Ambersons.... This is a magical play, not a mere exercise in uncritical nostalgia, but a nuanced reminiscence full of time and change and loss and suffering--as well as joy.” Donald Lyons, New York Post
Performances will be:
- November 12, 13, 14 at 7:30 p.m
- November 15 at 2:30 p.m.
All performances will be at 100 Main Street, Wellsboro, PA
Call 570-724-2079 for reservations.
CAST:Grandpa/Rodger: Bill Bauer
Jane: Kate Sholonski
Harry: Sean Bartlett
Eddie: Steve Worthington
Grandma/Fanny: Mary C. Ginn
