"A Lovely Sunday"

The first thing that strikes you at "A Lovely Sunday For Creve Coeur" is the cluttered stage by Harry Feiner. The symbolism is too great, as we see the lives of four women unwind. Like many of Tennessee Williams plays, we see the symmetry of many of the characters that he presents to us. We saw it in "Streetcar Named Desire" and we see it in "Creve Couer". Four women, all with an agenda, some good, some not so good and of course some with cunning, bad intentions. The play takes place in St. Louis, the home of many German immigrants after World War Two. These immigrants were hard working, blue collar people who strove to have a better life here in America. We meet for most of the first hour both Dorothea (Jean Lichty), a young vibrant school teacher who posses a Southern charm. She is a transplant from Memphis and teaches at the local school where she is a civics teacher. She is smitten by the schools principal who we never see. Ralph Ellis is the schools principal and apparently a heart throb, at least to Dorothea. He comes from the "right family", is thrusted onto the social calendar even though he decided to a teacher instead of a lawyer like his father. The play is two hours and set in one day and the action is at a very even pace and moves nicely. Austin Pendleton did a nice job moving his characters about in true Williams fashion. Tennessee Williams plays need to keep the audience looking, watching and studying the actors wondering what is going through their minds. "Sunday" is no different. One of Tennessee Williams lesser know plays, but a good one no less.

At first we think Dorothea's relationship with Bodey is just an older women looking after a young go- getter but it is not. Bodey (Kristine Nielsen), wants Dorothea to get together with her brother Buddy who is not an attractive person. We find this out later, in the beginning she gives Dorothy little suggestions as to why Ralph is not right for her. To Dorothea, nothing could be further from her beliefs. Mr. Ellis, after all told her how great they are together when he had her in a very uncompromising position. To her, it's love, it's prestige and it is society. Ralph is everything she wants, he has great position in life, something she has aspired to for quite some time. It is Bodey that tries to make her see the light as she knows that it will never come to fruition.

The second half of the play introduces us to the last two characters, Helena and Miss Gluck. They are diametrically opposed to one another. Helena, like Dorothea wants status, even if it means second hand discount stores. Helena is there to get the rent money for a duplex in the smart part of town for both her and Dorothea. Helena is the art teacher at the school and is to cunning for a naive Dorothea. It becomes a showdown between Bodey's ambition and Dorothea's and Helena's illusions. Bodey outwardly shows her disgust as does upstairs neighbor Miss Glick Both are appalled at the fraudulent airs that Helena put on. Helena is clearly taking advantage of what we think is a very innocent Dorothea. Williams shows us in short order that Dorothea is just as hard hearted as Helena. Helena has been around the block, but Dorothea is as cunning, with less experience then Helena. Around Helena, she dismisses Bodey and her brother, she ridicules there appearances and is down right mean about it. She scoffs at the idea of a romance with Buddy, the cigar chomping over weight, socially awkward person that he is.

Williams gives us a very deranged person in Dorothea. She starts out sweet, but as the play goes on she is down right scary. Much like Stella in "Streetcar", she is crazy and delusional. Like Maggie in "A Cat On A Hot Tin Roof", she stops at nothing to get what she wants. Dorothea is also reminiscent of the Mother in "Glass Menagerie". Dorothea puts on a good front but deep down she is weak, very weak. In the end, however, we see that she is both a survivor and a settlor.