''Dinner with Friends'' is a play written by
Donald Margulies
Donald Margulies (born September 2, 1954) is an American playwright and academic. In 2000, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''Dinner with Friends''.
Background and education
Margulies attended John Dewey High School in Brookly ...
. It premiered at the 1998
Humana Festival of New American Plays
Humana Festival of New American Plays is an internationally renowned festival that celebrates the contemporary American playwright. Produced annually in Louisville, Kentucky by Actors Theatre of Louisville, this festival showcases new theatrica ...
and opened
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
in 1999. The play received the 2000
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...
.
Plot
Gabe and Karen, a happily married, middle-aged couple, live in Connecticut. They have been friends with Tom and Beth, another married couple, for many years. In fact, it was Gabe and Karen who introduced their friends in the first place. While having dinner at Gabe and Karen's home, Beth tearfully reveals that she is getting a divorce from Tom, who has been unfaithful.
Tom, who had been away on business, finds out that Beth has told their friends about the looming divorce, and hastens to Gabe and Karen's home. Tom and Beth had planned to tell their friends about their breakup together, but Tom now believes that Beth unfairly has presented herself as the wronged party, and feels he must present his own side of the story.
The time flashes back 12 years to a vacation home on Martha's Vineyard, when Karen and Gabe introduce Beth to Tom. Over the course of the play, both couples are seen at different ages and stages of their lives. Tom and Beth's breakup affects Gabe and Karen, who first feel compelled to choose sides, and then begin to question the strength of their own seemingly tranquil marriage. They also begin to see the real meaning behind their friendships with Tom and Beth.
Productions
The play was initially produced at the Humana Festival of New American Plays (Louisville, Kentucky) in March 1998. The Humana production was directed by Michael Bloom and featured Adam Grupper and
Linda Purl
Linda Purl (born September 2, 1955) is an American actress and singer, known for her roles as Ashley Pfister (Fonzie's girlfriend) on ''Happy Days'' (she originally played Gloria as Richie’s date in season 2 episode 6), Sheila Munroe in the 1982 ...
as Gabe and Karen and Devore Millman and David Byron as Beth and Tom.
A revised version was presented at
South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.
Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson, is led by Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Direc ...
in Costa Mesa, California, in October 1998. The South Coast Rep production starred
Julie White
Julie K. White (born June 4, 1961) is an American actress. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in ''The Little Dog Laughed'' in 2007. She has also received three other Tony Award nominations for her performanc ...
(Beth), John Carroll Lynch (Gabe),
Jane Kaczmarek
Jane Frances Kaczmarek (; born December 21, 1955) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Malcolm's mother Lois on the Fox television sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned her three Golden Globe nomination ...
(Karen) and T. Scott Cunningham (Tom).
[Mermelstein, David]
"Review. 'Dinner with Friends' "
''Variety'', November 8, 1998
''Dinner with Friends'' premiered
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
at the Variety Arts Theatre on November 4, 1999 after previews from October 22 and an out-of-town tryout in Stamford, Connecticut from October 12 to 17. The director was
Daniel J. Sullivan (at South Coast Rep and Off-Broadway), with sets by
Neil Patel, costumes by Jess Goldstein and lighting by Rui Rita.
;Original Off-Broadway cast
* Gabe:
Matthew Arkin
Matthew Arkin (born March 21, 1960) is an American actor, acting instructor, and author.
Early life and education
Arkin was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jeremy Yaffe, a nurse, and actor Alan Arkin. He is the younger brother of actor Ada ...
* Karen:
Lisa Emery
Lisa Emery is an American stage, film, and television actress. Emery is best known for playing Darlene Snell on Netflix series ''Ozark''.
Early life
Emery was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the daughter of an aspiring actress from Charlottesv ...
* Beth: Julie White
* Tom:
Kevin Kilner
Kevin Kilner (born May 3, 1958) is an American television and film actor.
Life and career
Kilner was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Dorothea, a kindergarten teacher, and Edward Kilner, who worked in advertising sales and insurance. He we ...
The play was revived Off-Broadway by the
Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres.
History
The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...
at the Laura Pels Theatre, running from February 2014 to April 13, 2014. Directed by
Pam MacKinnon
Pam MacKinnon (born January 9, 1968) is an American theatre director. She has directed for the stage Off-Broadway, on Broadway and in regional theatre. She won the Obie Award for Directing and received a Tony Award nomination, Best Director, for ...
, the cast featured
Heather Burns
Heather Burns (born April 7, 1975) is an American actress, known for her role as Miss Rhode Island Cheryl Frasier in the 2000 film '' Miss Congeniality'' and its 2005 sequel, '' Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous''. Her other film appearan ...
(Beth),
Marin Hinkle
Marin Elizabeth Hinkle (born March 23, 1966) is an American actress. Among many television and movie roles, she is best known for playing Judy Brooks on the ABC television drama ''Once and Again'', Judith Harper-Melnick on the CBS sitcom ''Two an ...
(Karen), Darren Pettie (Tom) and
Jeremy Shamos
Jeremy Shamos (born February 22, 1970) is an American actor.
Early life
Shamos was born in New York City but raised in Denver, Colorado. He has a M.F.A. from New York University.
Career
Shamos is a character actor, his most notable roles are ...
(Gabe).
[" 'Dinner with Friends', 2014"]
lortel.org, accessed August 1, 2015
;Canada
Joyce Dewitt
Joyce Anne DeWitt (born April 23, 1949) is an American actress and comedian known for playing Janet Wood on the ABC sitcom ''Three's Company'' from 1977 to 1984.
Early life
Joyce DeWitt was born April 23, 1949, in Wheeling, West Virginia, and g ...
appeared in a Canadian production of the play at Hamilton's Theatre Aquarius in 2011.
;UK productions
The play had its UK premiere at the
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...
, London in July 2001. Directed by
Simon Curtis, the cast featured
Elizabeth McGovern
Elizabeth Lee McGovern (born July 18, 1961) is an American actress and musician. She has received many awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, three Golden Globe Award nominations, and one Academy Award nomination.
Born in Evanston, Ill ...
and
Kevin Anderson as Beth and Tom, and Rolf Saxon and
Samantha Bond
Samantha Jane Bond (born 27 November 1961) is an English actress, who is best known for playing Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan years, and for her role on ''Downton Abbey'' as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamund ...
as Gabe and Karen. ''Dinner with Friends'' is presented in London at the Park Theatre, from October 27, 2015 to November 28. Directed by
Tom Attenborough
Thomas Frederick Richard Attenborough (born 13 October 1986) is an English voice actor and theatre director. He is the son of theatre director Michael Attenborough, grandson of the late film actor and director Richard Attenborough and the great ...
, the cast features Harry Dhillon as Tom, Finty Williams as Beth, and
Shaun Dooley
Shaun Dooley (born 29 March 1974) is an English actor, narrator and voice-over artist.
Early life
Dooley was born in Barnsley in Yorkshire. He studied at the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester between 1992 and 1995.
Career
Dooley's fir ...
and Sara Stewart as Gabe and Karen.
;Paris
The play ran in Paris at the Comédie des Champs-Élysées in 1999, directed by
Michel Fagadau
Michel Fagadau (born Mihai Făgădău, 1930– February 10, 2011) was a Romanian-born French theater director and producer.
Born in Bucharest, his family had to leave Romania during the war due to his father's antifascist activities. They ended up ...
and titled ''Dîner Entre Amis''. The cast featured Didier Sandre (Tom), Catherine Frot, Jean-Pierre Malo and Liana Fulga.
;Regional US productions
The play made its Los Angeles debut at the Geffen Playhouse in October 2000. Directed by Daniel Sullivan, the cast starred Kevin Kilner (Tom),
Dana Delany
Dana Welles Delany (born March 13, 1956) is an American actress. After appearing in small roles early in her career, Delany received her breakthrough role as Colleen McMurphy on the ABC television drama ''China Beach'' (1988–1991), for which s ...
(Beth),
Rita Wilson
Rita Wilson (born Margarita Ibrahimoff; October 26, 1956) is an American actress, singer, and producer. Her film appearances include ''Volunteers'' (1985), ''Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993), '' Now and Then'' (1995), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ...
(Karen) and
Daniel Stern (Gabe). The play has had other regional productions, including the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta; Berkeley Repertory Theatre, California; the
Old Globe Theatre
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...
; the Portland Stage, Maine (2005); and the Philadelphia Theatre Company (2001).
Critical response
Elyse Sommer, the ''CurtainUp'' reviewer, in writing of the original 1999 production, wrote: "Happily the author of 'Collected Stories' and 'Sight Unseen' has once again marshaled his ability to free character and situation prototypes from their cookie cutter mold familiarity. Just as happily, director Daniel Sullivan has given the script a handsome, smoothly orchestrated production and four actors who fuse Margulies' words with the finesse of a finely tuned string quartet."
The reviewer of the original production for ''Aisle Say NY'' wrote: "...when it threatens to be schematic and predictable, it is anything but; and what would seem to be a light comedy about friendship and shifting loyalties, becomes instead a surprisingly touching rumination about the changes that come with age: the changes redefining relationships, the changes within relationships, the impact new relationships have on old, and the balances and affections that shift unexpectedly, just because, despite our reluctance to want to accept it, life goes on."
The ''CurtainUp'' reviewer, in writing of the 2014 revival, concluded: "But for all its richly flavored dialogue and characterizations, the dinner served up at the Laura Pels doesn't resonate as quite the gourmet meal it once was. It's a well structured, insightful play but it leaves you hungry for seeing Mr. Margulies apply his considerable gifts to more currently significant themes."
Awards and nominations
* 2000
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...
* 2000 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play
* 1999 Dramatists Guild/Hull-Warriner Award
* 2000 Outer Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Off Broadway Play and Outstanding Director of a Play (The Lucille Lortel Award)
* 2000
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...
nominations for Play, Featured Actor (Arkin), Director, and Set Design
* 1999
American Theatre Critics Association The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) is the only nationwide professional association of theatre critics in the United States. The ATCA membership consists of theatre critics who write reviews and critiques of live theatre for print, broad ...
New Play Award
*2014 Lucille Lortel Award, Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, Jeremy Shamos
[
]
Film adaptation
The play was adapted into a 2001 HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
TV movie starring Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor known for a wide variety of dramatic and comedic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the late 1970s, some of his notable credits include ''Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The ...
as Gabe, Andie MacDowell
Rosalie Anderson MacDowell (born April 21, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell's known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. MacDowell has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman ...
as Karen, Greg Kinnear
Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''As Good as It Gets'' (1997).
Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, including ''Sabrina'' (199 ...
as Tom, and Toni Collette
Toni Collette Galafassi (born Toni Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, producer, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades throughout her career, includ ...
as Beth. The movie was directed by Norman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison (born July 21, 1926) is a retired Canadian film and television director, producer, and founder of the Canadian Film Centre.
He has directed numerous feature films and has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best D ...
with the screenplay by Margulies."'Dinner with Friends' Listing"
''New York Times'', accessed November 6, 2015
References
External links
*
*[http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9C02E4DA133EF935A25757C0A9669C8B63&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FSubjects%2FP%2FPulitzer%20Prizes Critic's Notebook; A Validation of Off Broadway:] Review at NY Times
{{Pulitzer Prize for Drama 1976-2000
1998 plays
American plays adapted into films
Plays by Donald Margulies
Pulitzer Prize for Drama-winning works
Plays set in Connecticut