Ghent Playhouse Opens “Mrs. Farnsworth”

Posted by Gail M. Burns - March 2010

Ghent Playhouse Announces “MRS FARNSWORTH”

Mrs. Farnsworth
Written by A. R. Gurney
Directed by Cathy Lee-Visscher
March 12 – 28

For our fourth play of the season, the Ghent Playhouse presents “Mrs. Farnsworth,” a comedy by A.R. Gurney, the American playwright and novelist. His plays include “Love Letters,” “The Dining Room,” and “The Middle Ages.” Cathy Lee-Visscher will direct “Mrs. Farnsworth,” which opens on March 12 and runs through March 28.

Margery Farnsworth, a very proper, well-educated Connecticut wife and mother signs up for a creative writing course with the intent of penning a tell-all about our last president, George W. Bush, with whom she has presumably shared a shady past. Although she doesn’t have much written, she provides enough dirt about her so-called “fictional character” to shock and awe her part-time instructor, Gordon Bell, and fellow classmates, who encourage her to continue her efforts. Enter Mr. Farnsworth, her husband, who is initially seen as a villain, obstructing the sordid truth from being exposed, but who then offers his own perspectives on what is really happening, including possible lapses of reality in his wife’s mind. The play illustrates that drawing the line of demarcation is simply not that simple, good and evil don’t fall neatly on one side or another, and the right thing is not merely black in white.

“Politicians poised to sling mud might take a pointer or two from A. R. Gurney: Good manners can be lethal weapons, and a glancing sideswipe may cause more damage than a punch in the nose. Mrs. Farnsworth, as polite and sweetly subversive a political attack as you’re likely ever to come across.” said Ben Brantley, in the NY Times when the play opened off-Broadway in 2004

The cast includes Johnna Murray and Tom Detwiler as Mr. and Mrs. Farnsworth along with Neal Berntson as the instructor. Mike Meier, Lindsey Sikora and newcomers Arielle Lant and Nellie Rustick play the students. Cathy Lee-Visscher said she is “delighted to be able to work with a combination of Playhouse veterans and newcomers.”

Mrs. Farnsworth opens on Friday evening, March 12 and runs through Sunday afternoon, March 28. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 each and $12 for members of the Ghent Playhouse. For reservations please call 518-392-6264

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