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"Sweet Sue"
July 9 - July 19, 1986
World premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, MA
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| Playwright by A.R. Gurney Jr. |
| Directed by John Tillinger |
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| Susan |
- Mary Tyler Moore |
| Jake |
- Steven Culp |
| Susan Too |
- Maria Tucci |
| Jake Too |
- Barry Tubb |
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Mary Tyler Moore, Steven Culp
photo by Bob Marshak |
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| set by Santo Loquasto |
Steven Culp, Mary Tyler Moore, Maria Tucci
photo by Bob Marshak |
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Mary Tyler Moore, Steven Culp, Barry Tubb
photo by Bob Marshak |
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(c) wtfestival.org |
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| Although the play requires four actors, there are only characters: Susan Weatherhill, a repressed and uncertain woman in her late forties, and Jake, a young man who is the college roommate of Susan's son. Each of these characters, however, is played simultaneously by two actors, who give expression to the tensions and ambivalences within the characters. The script refers to them as: "Susan," "Susan Too," "Jake," and "Jake Too." |
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THE STORY:
The action of the play is set in Susan's home in a New York suburb--Susan being a romantically-minded, divorced mother of three, and a very successful artist and designer of greeting cards. It is summer and Jake, the Dartmouth roommate of her son, Ted, has taken up temporary residence with Susan while doing house painting to earn money for his college expenses. Susan is drawn to the handsome, lively Jake, while he, in turn, is hopeful of finally establishing a meaningful relationship with a member of the opposite sex--although what he has in mind is someone of his own age. But, as the two begin to draw closer to each other, what adds a special quality to their relationship is that Susan is played by two actresses and Jake by two actors--offering two distinct perspectives on both characters and allowing the playwright to conceive a wide array of clever and inventive combinations and situations. Susan (and Susan Too) wants Jake (and Jake Too) to pose in the nude for a life study, and while there is initial reluctance, Jake (both of him) finally acquiesces, leading to the bittersweet ending of the play in which desire and convention are both touchingly accommodated before Susan and Jake return, as they know they must, to their separate worlds. (c) playdatabase.com |
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