A long-running off-Broadway success, Albee's play expands on the trivialities of everyday life in an ironic, humorous and offbeat way. While Mommy and Daddy struggle with the idea of putting Grandma in a nursing home, Grandma - a feisty, strong willed woman - has another plan. Enter the muscular, well-spoken Young Man that the family considers "The American Dream."

Publicity Cordinator:

Daddy - Jesse Baxter*

Josh Coles*

Mommy - Christina Underwood

Grandma - Drew Ernst*

Joshua Burch*

Mrs. Barker - Lauren Worrall

Young Man - Ryan Stockton

Mark Ribau

Megan Dreisbach

Nathan Martin

Amy Wolf

Rebekah Bonney

Andrew Beckwith

Props Master:

Matt Kelly

Dani Rae Warden*

Edward Albee is probably best known as the author of WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, THREE TALL WOMEN, and THE ZOO STORY, among others. But, THE AMERICAN DREAM is one of his first plays and was a product of its time - the early 1960's. It is classified as belonging to the style of Theatre of the Absurd, which emerged as a reaction to the atrocities of World War II. - millions of people killed in concentration camps and whole cities annihilated by atomic bombs. It is intersting to note that recent events that have shook the foundation of the world cause many people to react in many different ways. We ask ourselves how such things can happen. Where has our humanity gone? Artists who work in this style attempt to address the "absurdity" (the absence of purpose or meaning) humanity encounters in a world of shattered beliefs. They strive to express its sense of the senselessness of the human condition, and the inadequacy of the rational approach by the open abandonment of rational devices and rambling thought. Basically, it's a messed up world that makes no sense! The characters in THE AMERICAN DREAM encounter such a world where their questions are made in vain, where meaning is arbitrary, and where they become victims of a seemingly random circumstance they neither forbid nor control.

Another issue that is broached in THE AMERICAN DREAM is the dissolving of the traditional family unity into a struggle for money, popularity and beauty - the pursuit of "the American dream." In the past, families were extended units of care. We took our parents into our homes and cared for them as they had cared for us. But with a surge in the economy after World War II, that all changed. We could now afford to place our elderly in facilities that would take the burden (and guilt) off of ourselves, and allow us to pursue our dreams. We see the characters in this play dealing with these same issues and concerns, and not always in the most successful way.

Now, as heavy as all this sounds, this play looks at a dysfunctional family in a humorous way. We are meant to find the humor in thier situations, actions, and language. Feel free to laugh and enjoy yourselves, for theatre is meant to educate, edify and entertain!

David Olmstead - Director

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