A House Divided
by Sean David Bennett
Between the thrilling musical tour-de-force of “Billy Bishop Goes to War” and the exuberantly quirky new romantic comedy “The Poetry of Pizza”, Stage 3 brings to life a mighty contemporary drama that is daring in its subject matter and stunning in its impact.
“A House Divided” by Sean David Bennett roared out of our Festival of New Plays this year, leaving the audience on its feet and garnering the co-winner prize.
Set against a background of abuse in the Catholic church, it is the story of a close-knit Irish-American family coming to terms with forces that are trying to tear it apart. Bennett has created a nuclear family, bound together by love and devotion. When the clan gathers for the patriarch’s birthday, secrets are revealed that threaten to blow this nuclear family apart. The fission generated could destroy anyone its path.
One of Sean David Bennett’s inspirations is Eugene O’Neill, the playwright who almost single-handedly invented modern American theatre. Bennett writes with the same type of subliminal poetic power, with compelling characters and dialogue, cloaking the heroic in the everyday.
“A House Divided” is electrifying new theatre, plain and simple.
Director Bonnie Bryson speaks enthusiastically about the challenges and rewards of working on the play, “This play tackles the hard question of what it means to be human in this world of increasingly difficult circumstances and choices. The importance of family, of church, of God. I had seen the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Doubt, in New York and left the theatre with more questions than answers about guilt and innocence, good and evil, betrayal and redemption, and the role of religion and the clergy in our lives. ‘A House Divided’ addresses all these issues and more. The cast has such wonderful chemistry. They bring so much to rehearsal to stimulate and inspire me and each other.”
“A House Divided” requires a stellar ensemble and Bryson has assembled a cast of veterans and talent yet unseen by Stage 3 audiences. Her cast includes Gary Holman, Caitlin Randall, Bev Woodland, Stephen Daly, Anthony DePage, Thom Heath and David Phillips.
Playwright Sean David Bennett, who makes his home outside Boston, will be in residence in Sonora during rehearsals to fine-tune the work and provide his insight. He is the recipient of a 2004 Edward F. Albee Playwriting Fellowship, and is a member of the Kennedy Center’s Playwriting Intensive. He was recently awarded a three-month writing fellowship by the Montana Artists Refuge. His plays have been seen across the United States and as far away as Australia. A recipient of numerous awards and honors, Bennett’s other plays include “Acts of Communion”, “Thirst”, “George W. Bush – The Musical” and “An American Fall,” about Adlai Stevenson, Joseph McCarthy and the 1952 Presidential election.
Set design will be by Ron Cotnam, Denny Anderson and Chris Sutherst. Lighting Design will be by Matthew Leamy.
This production is made possible in part by an anonymous Associate Producer and a grant from the James Irvine Foundation.