The Rehearsal
A Novel
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
An engaging new novel about love, on-stage and off
In the spring of 1971, Will Bartlett, an ambitious director at a small resident theatre, has an idea: he will invite his cast of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men to his country farm for a month, giving them the opportunity of "becoming" their characters, and enhancing the realistic atmosphere of his next production. Will's family grudgingly agrees to his sudden change of plan, but events and personalities rapidly spiral out of his control. The cast of nine men and one woman is already unevenly balanced, but the situation is made even worse when Melinda--the woman playing the part of Curley's Wife--fails to turn up at the farm as expected. Will's wife, Myra, takes the role, although she has not been on stage since their daughter, Beth, was born. Sixteen-year-old Beth is furious, having already decided that the part should be hers. When the self-obsessed Will remains oblivious to the problems between Myra and Beth, as well as the increasing distance between himself and his wife, Myra finds herself looking at her husband's best friend in a new light. The tension grows between members of Will's family, and the other actors find themselves drawn into a complex tangle of relationships, leading them to question not only how well they know each other, but also how well they know themselves.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Willis's second novel (after Some Things That Stay), theater director Will Bartlett has invited the actors in his resident theater company to his family's small upstate New York farm, before the opening of their summer production of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. It's 1971, resident companies are struggling financially and the theater is changing artistically under the influence of new ideas like Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty. In his late 50s, Will is not avant-garde enough for nude rehearsals, but he does want to try something new. So he asks his cast to "live" their characters while offstage as well as on. The pressures created by this effort, together with the strains imposed by communal life in a small house and decrepit barn, exacerbate problems in the Bartlett family. Will's wife, Myra, a musical comedy actress who retired after a severe bout of stage fright that followed marriage and motherhood, is reexamining her life, while his daughter, Beth, is maneuvering to get her first role. The addition of the sexual and professional tensions that inevitably plague actors adds fuel to the fire. The present-tense narrative creates a sense of urgency, but the potentially combustible ingredients don't come together to create an explosion; the few sparks struck ultimately fizzle. Although dramatically unsatisfying, this is true to life, as are the portrayals of Will and the various members of his personal and professional families, especially the angry and confused 16-year old Beth.
