(Left to right) Actors Catherine DuBord, Clay Wheeler, Amber Quinn and Georgia Clinton in production of ‘Children’ at the Bath House Cultural Center. (Courtesy of WingSpan Theatre Company)
Every family has its issues and skeletons in the closet so there is no exempting the family from the play Children. The WingSpan Theatre Company delivers a performance that demonstrates a well-bred upper-class dysfunctional family on the decline.
It is the Fourth of July weekend in 1970 off the coast of Massachusetts at the family’s summer home, and the mother of the family is about to pass on her house to her three children. This weekend will be one the family will never forget.
Susan Sargeant, director of the play, said, “This year is WingSpan Theatre Company’s 15th Anniversary Season. I wanted to celebrate this special moment with a play that resonated for me. I am from New England and came of age in the 1970s.”
Five years have passed since the Mother, played by Georgia Clinton, has been widowed. She plans to wed an old friend but doesn’t get the warm joy expected from her family. The marriage means that house must be passed to the children as the will of her husband suggests. Pokey, the estranged youngest son and an offstage presence, comes back after many years and insists the family sell the property.
“I want the audience to be transported to another place and time. I want them to get caught in the waves of the text [and] story and the family dynamic [and] relationships,” Sargeant said. “The heart [and] core of the story is about profound change within the family. What happens when these values and relationships shift.”
One of the characters in the play, named Jane, is played SMU alumna Catherine DuBord. A Graduate from 2006 DuBord has been mastering her craft.
“Jane is a very different character then I have been playing lately. She is very much Betty Draper from Mad Men,” DuBord said. “The way that she communicates and interacts with the world is very different than the modern type of woman that I am. Learning to be still and slide information in under the radar has been a great challenge.”
The play, written by A.R. Gurney, is partly based off the short story Goodbye, My Brother. The stage is set for audience members to enjoy the calming sound of waves contrasted to the family struggle as they try to adhere to the WASPdom (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) ways.
“I hope to see folks come out and partake in this rarely produced gem by A.R. Gurney. WingSpan’s Mission Statement specializes in producing lesser known or rarely produced play by known playwrights,” Sargeant said.
Children runs from Oct. 4 to Oct. 20 at The Bath House Cultural Center. Visit www.wingspantheatre.com for more information and ticket pricing.
