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Theatrical Performance/Play Review: Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies
"Inevitable Evolution."
It takes a lot of effort to "prune" a certain work of art. Some passions, no matter how grand…or how beautiful they are, simply fade away. It is also inevitable for man to lose his appetite even for the most scrumptious dish. One's craving does not last forever. These thoughts are not too scary—but what if everything…even Love… must always come to an end?
Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies is a subtle drama about love, commitment and friendship in the course of failure and divorce. It has a thought-provoking story that revolves around the unfathomable ideals of marriage; of the so-called "inevitable evolution" that married couples go through, and of the beauty of companionship during times of uncertainties and that rickety phase of existence that most people, inescapably, undergo.
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The play presents to us four significant characters: Beth, Tom, Karen and Gabe. All four depicts explicit and interesting characteristics, each having a divergent mind-set or a certain forte that one may associate himself/herself into. The four entities live through a special bond that is embellished with both wonders and nightmares. Gabe and Karen are your ‘seemingly happy' couple who share the same flair for cooking. Both are international food writers now living in their Connecticut abode after spending some time polishing their craft in Italy. Consciously or unconsciously (after twelve years of married life) they begin to sense a tinge of ennui and monotony in their relationship as they re-examine their rapport (and compare it with what their friends are having). Beth and Tom, meanwhile, epitomizes the ‘malcontent pair'—who, after twelve years of living, loving and struggling together, decides to put some things to an end. Marriage has somewhat given them chains instead of wings to keep them soaring and dashing around with ardor for each other. Gabe and Karen are sorry for both. Beth and Tom is such a part of their lives…and seeing them crumble apart creates a profound and such a disquieting impact on them.
The first scene contains the part wherein Beth unveils the truth about her and Tom to her friends (Karen and Gabe). The characters' tones are melancholic and shaken, although there are always the insertion of a comic relief in between blubbers and seriousness (courtesy of Gabe—the naïve yet shrewd guy). Beth discloses Tom's weaknesses and deficiencies as a husband while her two friends are trying to find ways to comfort and reassure her dying conviction. Certain images are used in this scene such as the lemon apple cake (which will also be apparent in the latter parts of the play). The writer sees the image as somewhat a ‘diversion' from the nightmare. Its sweetness may have the ephemeral power to combat bitterness in one's heart, but after consuming it, the power just burns off and so does the evanescent glow it brings to the one having it.
The play presents two faces and the many phases of marriage. In the second part of the drama, we are given a flashback of events—now we see the younger versions of our four vital characters. It is summer: Gabe and Karen are on their honeymooning phase while Tom and Beth are just on their getting-to-know-each-other chapter.
The third part is a fast-forward. This time, Beth and Tom are already moving on with their lives. Beth is seeing someone named David and Tom is still with Nancy (the travel agent). This scene consists of dragging yet insightful conversations that covers on conflicting points-of-view with regards to the true meaning of marriage. Tom is trying to convince Gabe that what he is going through is utterly normal. "Married couples all go through wretchedness…" There will come a point that you would just want to chuck it all and start over again, Tom said.
Basically, the writer sees this play as an eye-opener. Dinner with Friends brings to our realization the great responsibility that comes with settling down. Some couples do look good in the outside, yet one does not really know what couples are like when they are alone. Unsurprisingly, there is that "inevitable evolution". This is, as the assessor perceives it, is the most resounding phrase in the play. It awakens one's senses about the vulnerability of marriage, and the silent discord a couple has got to deal with when it comes to reviving a once overflowing passion. Indirectly, the play suggests the need for constant reinvention… the importance of sex, imagination and most importantly communication. It has a subtle way of presenting reality, of disclosing both the good and the bad side of that dream that goes after the phrase "until death doth part." And it also displays a great deal of inspirational camaraderie and the worth of sensitivity among friends.
Technicalities [Negative and Positive Points]
Dinner with Friends, with its Pulitzer-prize winning content, is direly convincing. The simple plot is enhanced with a quaint setting that suggests a typical ambiance. The William J. Shaw Theatre offers a medium-sized space that seems to be very challenging to maximize. The props used were pleasant, quite realistic even to the smallest details. To the left of the stage was the patio, which was enhanced by minimal yet apt lights. The conversations usually happen in the living room/dining room, which were situated in the middle portion of the stage. The colors used vary in accordance to the change in season/ weather, thus giving the audience the fitting emotion/intensity in each scene.
A small bedroom and an even smaller bar were located at the right wing of the stage. One can sense the very careful picking of materials to balance the different textures of the elements. Musical scoring was very minimal, and so the actors' clear diction/projection (and of course, the content of what they are saying) were made more noticeable. Sound effects were good, except for the car engine sound, which reverberated more of like a lawnmower. Costumes and make-ups were natural; typifying four average individuals/professionals. Apparently, the whole arrangement creates an intimate and snug connection between the spectators and the cast. Most flaws are quite easy to disregard if one indulges himself/herself in the substance or the message of the plot.
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Dinner with Friends is surely a treat for mature individuals. It is a play that is "loaded with wit, compassion and consummate skill"—and with a straightforward plot that may even alter or affect one's perception. It is inevitable to wonder why is it entitled such when the plot actually revolves around "the compromises of middle age and the cost of breaking apart—and of staying together". Why "Dinner with Friends"? This was the first question that popped in the critic's head. And after some time of pondering, the writer sensed how truly significant the title is to the plot. And how even that slice of lemon apple thingy creates a philosophical impact to the keen audience. Dinner with Friends suggests that comforting scene amidst a draining day. It somehow knocks on the people's senses, telling us that despite an ostensibly saddening event in our lives, it is always consoling to find ourselves in the middle of a heart to heart conversation with those people who see both the good and the evil in us. Some people may desert us, an obsession or maybe a loved may predictably abandon us, but still, there are always those little good things that await us at the end of a bleak day, like a cheery and warm dinner. Dinner with Friends makes us appreciate the goodness of having friends, the goodness of being true and optimistic even after a typhoon, the goodness of digesting even the harshest realities of existence…of maturing and developing into better individuals. This play gives us a deeper understanding… it opens our doors for that "inevitable evolution"… and most of all it opens our hearts for a deeper meaning of love.
Michelle J. Nepomuceno
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