newportbeachindy . com APRIL 14 , 2023 5
STEPPING OUT
‘ Dinner with Friends ’ at Newport Theatre Arts Center is Deeply Insightful and Affecting
: L to R : Jami Barlett , Mark Coyan , Holland Renton , Angel Correa in “ Dinner With Friends ” at Newport Theatre Arts Center . Photo by Charles Weinberg .
By Eric Marchese | Special to the NB Indy
Donald Margulies has said that most of his plays revolve around two basic themes : loss and identity .
From those universal concepts , the award-winning playwright has crafted plays as widely varied as “ Sight Unseen ,” “ Collected Stories ,” “ Brooklyn Boy ” and “ Time Stands Still .”
South Coast Repertory has showcased much of Margulies ’ s work , but Newport Theatre Arts Center , working with few resources , has produced “ Sight Unseen ” and now “ Dinner With Friends .”
The play premiered in 1998 at Actors Theater of Louisville , was revised and produced later that year at SCR and opened Off-Broadway in November of 1999 . Further attesting to its excellence : It received the
2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama .
The superbly written play has proven its popularity with smaller Orange County theater companies like Stages Theatre and Costa Mesa Playhouse , both of which produced it within the last few years . NTAC ’ s current staging is as compelling and affecting as previous productions you might have seen .
The story “ Dinner With Friends ” tells is basically that of two couples : one happily married , the other seeing their marriage come to an end . It ’ s clear , though , that Margulies is more interested in exploring the effects these events have upon each of his four characters . So “ Dinner ” is really more of a character study , and a compelling one at that .
Gabe ( Mark Coyan ) and Karen ( Holland Renton ) have always been content in their marriage . They trot the globe in search of memorable food , then return home to write about the marvelous victuals they have experienced in their travels .
In the opening scene , they ’ ve just come back from Italy and are regaling friend Beth ( Jami Bartlett ) with colorful stories of their adventures , a scene defined by sparkling dialogue that reflects Gabe and Karen ’ s sophistication .
Then Beth drops a bomb on her old friends , tearfully revealing that her marriage to Tom is on the rocks .
At first , Gabe and Karen side with her , seeing Tom ’ s extramarital affair as unforgivable . But things aren ’ t as cut-and-dried as they seem , and as “ Dinner ” progresses , we find ourselves struggling to determine who is at fault – or even whether any one person is to blame .
In the first act ’ s final scene , Gabe and Karen dissect the demise of the other couples ’ marriage – that is , between their compulsive , serial analysis of the dinner they just enjoyed . Talking shop puts them in their comfort zone and provides them with a coping mechanism – a shock absorber to dampen the blows of their best friends ’ separation .
The fulcrum of “ Dinner With Friends ” is the scene that opens Act Two . A flashback from 12 years earlier , it takes us to Gabe and Karen ’ s Labor Day weekend barbecue on Martha ’ s Vineyard . They ’ ve invited Beth and Tom and are hoping the two will meet , hit it off and become a couple .
Our knowing how their marriage will eventually implode means every seemingly innocent comment by either ( or by Karen or Gabe ) is fraught with meaning , and seeing both couples in both past and present yields audiences tremendous insights .
In the play ’ s penultimate scene , Karen and Beth meet for drinks . Beth has subsumed her own personality quirks for the purpose of self-scrutiny . Perhaps sadder yet also wiser , she ’ s still , at heart , a creative soul
DINNER Page 7
Corona del Mar
3107 E . Coast Hwy
( 949 ) 673-2800
Westcliff Plaza
1024 Irvine Ave
( 949 ) 642-1133
Newport Hills
2644 San Miguel
( 949 ) 644-8570