“Summer 1976”
Until December 22nd
studio theater
1501 14th St., NW
$40 – $95
studiotheater.org
Everyone is not just one thing.
This is a quick and concise statement of a sometimes forgotten point in David Auburn’s memoir Summer of 1976.
Now at the Studio Theater, in a satisfying double-handed take on the whims of two very different women, Alice (Holly Twyford) and Diana (Kate Eastwood Norris), who meet as young mothers in the summer of their bicentenary It depicts a friendship that never existed.
An educator and artist, Diana is a keen observer. She covers everything from Alice’s middle-brow summer reading (bestsellers Shogun and Koma) to knocking on an impossibly messy house to her young daughter’s perpetually runny nose and even her name. He makes quick and decisive decisions, even going so far as to focus negatively on Holly.
Alice, on the other hand, is a laid-back housewife who spends her summers sunbathing in her backyard and spending her time with her children while Merle, a supposedly cute but invisible graduate student, paints the house. I spend my time watching my daughter splashing in the pool. Inside, her husband Doug (not visible), an economics professor at Ohio State University, is hard at work at his desk, aiming to earn tenure in the fall.
What unites them is the women’s young daughters. During a playdate at Diana’s home, who has a keen interest in her hobby, the free-spirited Alice boldly pulls out a joint, and Diana eagerly joins in. While the girls play, the women bond over marijuana and Diana’s delicious leftover cassoulet. Alice is impressed. At this point, it seems like there’s nothing Diana can’t do well.
Phone calls and visits continue. They talk about life, art, and relationships. Alice has revealed that she has read books such as Virginia Woolf and George Eliot. She knows good literature. In fact, she was into it even before she left school to marry her husband. Meanwhile, Diana comes out as a single mother who is supported by her family’s money. Her work is not very prestigious, and all her paintings remain unfinished.
For them, that famous summer can be marked by a series of events. There were memorable children’s first playdates, trips to Cleveland to buy furniture, Princess Diana’s severe migraines, and various fireworks displays and parades. But their burgeoning relationship takes a turn when one of the women asks the other if she’s happy. The cramming of research won’t destroy friendships, but it will definitely have a chilling effect.
Auburn, best known for the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning family drama “Proof,” about the relationship between genius and madness, has written about friendship, especially female friendship at a time when culture was rapidly changing. It presents real considerations.
The two characters alternate between monologue and dialogue, remembering and living the moment. Sometimes it feels like there are more than one actor on stage. For example, with just a few changes in his voice and posture, Norris momentarily slips into the role of Doug. Like everything in this work, it is done with delicacy and skill.
Directed as competently as ever by Vivian Benesch (making her studio debut) with a carefully selected cast, this play is a joy to experience. Twyford and Norris are equally adept at comedy and drama, and their 90-minute non-stop talk, with no breaks, captures the rapt attention of viewers.
And the design team is a dream come true. Set designer Lee Savage’s elegant vision includes raised circles of parquet flooring, Breuer chairs, and block end tables, all crafted from medium brown wood reminiscent of the 1970s. Behind the stage is a square wooden wall, the perfect surface for Stefania Brubarella’s modern, painterly color projection.
“Summer 1976” marks actor Twyford’s 14th show at the studio and his ninth collaboration with Norris. Past standouts featuring this pair come to mind. “Mary Stuart” (2015) at Folger Theatre. This is another unforgettable work in which the characters are defined by both their differences and common grievances.
Near the end of the play, Alice and Diana meet by chance at a 2003 Klee retrospective in New York. It’s a little melancholy, but nothing excessive. For the characters and the audience, it is a moment that measures the friendship lost.
The post “Summer 1976,” a compelling exploration of female friendships, appeared first on Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News.
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