For so many years, the dining room was the center of family life. In this richly humorous theatrical tour de force, we meet a group of diverse characters–who through the years have shared a dining room. Set in a typical well-to-do household, The Dining Room is composed of a mosaic of interrelated scenes–some funny, some touching–which create a portrait of a vanishing species: the upper-middle-class WASP. The six actors will change roles, personalities and ages (without major costume changes) as they portray different characters, from little boys to grandfathers and from teenage girls to Irish housemaids. Some scenes are about the furniture itself and the emotional attachment to it, while other scenes simply flesh out the culture of the WASPS. “I think it has a great message about whether the dining room and family relationships as we know them are relevant to today’s modern life,” said director Merritt Olsen. “It’s also a wonderful challenge for the actors to get to play so many different parts.”

* Location: San Juan Community Theatre, 100 2nd St., Friday Harbor
* Phone: (360) 378-3210
* Admission: Adult $21 – Student $11 – RUSH $5