Children
Written by A.R. Gurney Jr
Directed by Harry Dunphy
10 – 15 May 1976
Randy and Barbara, adult children of an affluent New England family, spend Fourth of July weekend at their family’s beach house on an island off the coast of Massachusetts. Both are shocked when their widowed mother informs them that they’re soon to be joined by their youngest brother, Pokey, long estranged from the family. When questioned as to the reasons for the reunion, their mother reveals that she plans to remarry— to their late father’s best friend— and that, due to the conditions of their father’s will, the house will pass to the three children. Pokey’s arrival threatens the stability of this solid clan. Randy’s childish competitiveness with his brother is reawakened. Pokey’s liberated wife, Miriam, causes Randy’s wife, Jane, to confront her true feelings about her life as a suburban wife and mother. Meanwhile, Barbara is having an affair with the family’s former gardener, now married. Pokey announces his intentions to sell the house once it passes to the children, thus upsetting Barbara’s plans for a quiet domestic life with her lover on the island. The children’s upset forces their mother to confront where her life with her husband has brought her, and whether the true happiness really waits in her future.
Cast
Barbara – Valerie Cope
Randy – Roger Butler
Mother – Betty Willard
Jane – Pauline Ellard
Pokey – John Farrell
Crew
Stage Manager – John Farrell
Assistant Stage Manager – Mavis Dunphy
Lighting – Alan Hunt
Sound – Andy Howe
Properties – Barbara Fisher and Elizabeth Hunt
Setting – Guild Workshop