“Mrs. Farnsworth” Opens March 12 at Ghent Playhouse

Posted by Gail M. Burns - March 2010

The fourth play of the Ghent Playhouse season is “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.”

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 instructor 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. Director Cathy Lee-Visscher said she is “Delighted to be able to work with a combination of Playhouse veterans and newcomers”.

Mrs. Farnsworth
March 12th through 28th
Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm Sundays at 2pm
Tickets $15 * * * $12 for members
Call 518-392-6264 for reservations

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